Mali's president and prime minister held by mutinous troops

August 18, 2020

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mutinous soldiers detained Mali’s president and prime minister Tuesday after surrounding a residence and firing into the air in an apparent coup attempt after several months of demonstrations calling for President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s ouster.

The soldiers moved freely through the streets of Bamako, making it increasingly clear that they were in control of the capital city. There was no immediate comment from the soldiers, who hail from the very same military barracks in Kati where an earlier coup originated more than eight years ago.

A regional official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to journalists, confirmed that the president and prime minister had been detained Tuesday evening. The dramatic escalation capped off a day of political chaos in Mali, where the U.N. and former colonizer France have spent more than seven years trying to stabilize the country since the 2012 coup allowed an Islamic insurgency to take hold in the West African nation.

The unrest had kicked off in the garrison town of Kati, where mutinous soldiers took weapons from the armory at the barracks, and then detained senior military officers. Anti-government protesters cheered the soldiers’ actions, some even setting fire to a building that belongs to Mali’s justice minister in the capital.

Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, had urged the soldiers to put down their arms. “There is no problem whose solution cannot be found through dialogue,” he said in a communique. Earlier in the day, government workers fled their offices as armed men began detaining officials including the country’s finance minister Abdoulaye Daffe.

It was a dramatic change of fate for Keita, who has tried to meet the protesters' demands through a series of concessions since the demonstrations began in June. Keita, who has broad support from former colonizer France and other Western allies, first came to power in 2013 when he won more than 77 percent of the vote in a democratic election.

Tuesday’s developments were immediately condemned by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS that had been mediating Mali’s political crisis. France and the United States also strongly criticized the moves.

“The U.S. is opposed to all unconstitutional changes of government whether in the streets or by security forces,” tweeted J. Peter Pham, the State Department’s special envoy for the Sahel region. It was a troubling repeat of the events leading up to the 2012 coup, which ultimately unleashed years of chaos in Mali when the ensuing power vacuum allowed Islamic extremists to seize control of northern towns. Ultimately a French-led military operation ousted the jihadists but they merely regrouped and then expanded their reach during Keita’s presidency into central Mali.

On March 21, 2012, a similar mutiny erupted at the Kati military camp as rank-and-file soldiers began rioting and then broke into the camp’s armory. After grabbing weapons they later headed for the seat of government, led by then Capt. Amadou Haya Sanogo.

Sanogo was later forced to hand over power to a civilian transitional government that then organized the election Keita won. The current president has faced growing criticism of how his government has handled the relentless Islamic insurgency engulfing the country once praised as a model of democracy in the region. The military faced a wave of particularly deadly attacks in the north last year, prompting the government to close its most vulnerable outposts as part of a reorganization aimed at stemming the losses.

Regional mediators have urged Keita to share power in a unity government but those overtures were swiftly rejected by opposition leaders who said they would not stop short of Keita’s ouster.

Larson reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Burkina Faso army blamed for extrajudicial torture, deaths

August 24, 2020

FADA N'GOURMA, Burkina Faso (AP) — Huddled on the floor in a dimly lit room, one by one the five men displayed wounds they say were inflicted by government soldiers armed with wooden planks, knives and electric cables.

A 30-year-old recounted how a soldier held a cigarette lighter to his face while holding his head to the ground with a boot. “The soldiers said if you don’t tell us where the jihadists are we’ll kill you,” said the man, who like the others spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “I was screaming and crying and begging him not to burn me."

Of the dozen men taken from Burkina Faso’s eastern town of Tawalbougou in late June on suspicion of supporting Islamic extremist rebels, only five survived, they said. One man died from the beatings and six others were shot and killed, said the survivors. Their families were too afraid to collect their bodies, they said.

Some of the survivors can barely speak after the trauma, but all maintain they had no affiliation with the Islamic extremists who have rapidly destabilized Burkina Faso over the past few years. Such accusations of extrajudicial killings, torture and unlawful detention by Burkina Faso’s military are mounting, as the ill-equipped and under-trained army scrambles to stem the spread of jihadist violence that’s ravaging the country. As attacks linked to Islamic militants increase, so does the army’s targeting of civilians perceived to support them, charge rights groups.

Government officials deny that its forces are carrying out the abuse and say it places great emphasis on human rights and is conducting investigations into other alleged abuses by security personnel.

The allegations of rights abuses highlight the instability caused by the spread of extremist violence in Burkina Faso and the surrounding countries of West Africa's Sahel region. Similar extremist violence in neighboring Mali and that government's lack of success in controlling it is blamed for contributing to the coup there last week.

Many of the alleged victims of army abuse in Burkina Faso, like the five interviewed by AP, come from the Peuhl ethnic group, also known as the Fulani. Rights groups say the army is tarnishing its reputation and eroding trust among a desperate population that is facing attacks on multiple fronts.

“Allegations of abuse by the security forces and pro-government militias are trending dangerously up. Every time a suspect last seen in their custody winds up dead along a path or in a cell, confidence in the state decreases and the chance that angry men will support the jihadists increases,” said Corinne Dufka, West Africa director for Human Rights Watch.

During the first seven months of this year, 288 civilians were killed by government forces, more than a quarter of the total civilian deaths caused by violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which collects and analyzes conflict information.

The trend is specifically jarring in Burkina Faso's east, where the number of civilians killed by government forces has swelled by almost nine times so far this year compared to the second half of last year, according to the ACLED data.

The men who spoke with the AP in Fada N’gourma town said they were abducted from their homes by government soldiers backed by volunteer fighters from the local area. The military forces put the men into trucks and drove them around for hours while torturing them, the men told AP.

The incident comes on the heels of a Human Rights Watch report last month that said evidence suggested the army was responsible for the large scale executions of 180 people in the country’s north found in mass graves. The majority of the victims in the graves were also ethnic Peuhl herders.

The government did not respond to requests by the AP seeking comment about the alleged attacks in June. The ministry of defense has previously suggested such killings could have been carried out by groups using stolen army uniforms and equipment.

Foreign embassy cables from June seen by the AP say that President Roch Marc Christian Kabore appeared defensive when questioned about the abuses. The president said security forces were having a hard time finding “real terrorists” who infiltrate communities.

In June, jihadists disguised in burqas killed seven people in a village not far from Fada N’Gourma, said a high-ranking army officer who did not want to be named. Sometimes the jihadists pretend to be cattle or food traders so they can spy, he said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Civilians trying to survive in the east say they’re caught between government and volunteer brutality, as well as jihadist attacks. Ousmane Bande lost his son in the June attacks with government soldiers, his 17-year-old nephew was killed days later at a checkpoint manned by volunteers, not far from Fada N’gourma. Wrapping his prayer beads around his fingers, he said it’s hard to see his nine grandchildren now have to grow up without a father.

“I’m suffering,” he said. “The government needs to find a way to bring back peace."

Prague, Taipei deepen ties as controversial Czech visit ends

September 04, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The mayors of Prague and Taipei announced new areas of cooperation for the two sister cities, including orchestra tours, on Friday as a Czech delegation concluded a weeklong visit to Taiwan that was bitterly criticized by China.

Taipei also donated 100,800 face masks and will share its experiences in controlling the coronavirus, Mayor Ko Wen-je said. The head of the 80-plus member delegation, Czech Senate leader Milos Vystrcil, is the highest-ranking Czech official to visit the democratically ruled island since 1989, according to Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu.

Since the delegation's arrival on Sunday, it has met with Taiwanese counterparts to develop cooperation in a range of areas including trade, cybersecurity and the coronavirus pandemic. Vystrcil also met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

Wu said Taiwan is looking into starting direct flights between Taipei and Prague using its flagship airline, China Airlines. Vystrcil has faced strong anger from China, which issued multiple warnings over the week about the visit, as well as criticism from the pro-China Czech president.

China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and objects to any official contacts between other countries and the island. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Monday that China will “definitely make them pay a heavy price” for the visit, which Beijing sees as support for Taiwanese independence.

Throughout the visit, Vystrcil and others have emphasized the shared democratic values of Taiwan and the Czech Republic. Relations have soured between part of the Czech government and China in the past year.

Prague canceled a sister cities agreement with Beijing last year after the Chinese side insisted on adding a clause to the deal stating that Prague supports the “one-China principle,” which says Taiwan is part of China.

In reaction to Prague’s decision to sign a new sister cities' agreement with Taipei, China canceled the tours of several Prague classical music ensembles and orchestras. Part of the dispute is over trade.

“There were a lot of promises of China investment roughly around the year 2013, 2014. However, all those promises turned out to not be fulfilled,” Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib said Friday.

Czech Senate president meets Taiwan leader; Beijing protests

September 03, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The Czech Senate president met with Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen and other top government officials Thursday during a rare trip by a foreign dignitary to the self-ruled democratic island that rival China called an “open provocation.”

Tsai presented a medal for Jaroslav Kubera, the late predecessor of Czech Senate President Milos Vystrcil. Kubera died in January before making the trip, and Vystrcil said China’s pressure, including a warning from the Chinese Embassy against congratulating Tsai on her reelection, contributed to his decision to travel to the island.

Tsai called Kubera a “great friend" and gave a nod to Vystrcil's speech Tuesday, saying his words “I'm a Taiwanese” had touched many hearts. “Our actions are telling friends in Europe and all over the world, whether Taiwanese or Czechs, we will not succumb to oppression, will bravely speak up, actively participate in international affairs, and contribute our capabilities,” she said.

Beijing is furious about the Czech delegation’s visit, with the foreign ministry summoning the Czech Republic’s ambassador to lodge stern representations and saying the trip amounted to “flagrant support of Taiwan independence.” China claims Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to any official contact between other countries and the self-governing island.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that Vystrcil's visit is an “open provocation.” “China must tell the Czech Senate leader: You've crossed the line!” Wang said. Vystrcil and Taiwan's foreign minister also refuted China's warnings.

“I do not feel I have crossed any red line whatsoever,” Vystrcil said in response to reporters' questions on Thursday. “We did not do anything that would be an infringement of the One China policy.” He added, “every country has the right to interpret the One China principle in their own way."

“We are here to stay and Taiwan is not going anywhere," Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said. ”Taiwan is trying to maintain the status quo and the status quo is that Taiwan does not belong to China. Taiwan is governed by its own people."

Vystrcil and Wu announced further cooperation in business, scientific research and democratic exchange. Vystrcil announced the formation of a working group from the Czech side dedicated to cooperation on the economy and cybersecurity.

Tensions between the Czech Republic and China have simmered since a dispute between their capitals last year. They ended a sister-cities agreement because Beijing had wanted Prague to agree to the “One China” principle, which says Taiwan is part of China.

In his address Tuesday, Vystrcil directly referenced former President John F. Kennedy’s famed 1963 anti-communist speech in then-divided Berlin, and emphasized democratic freedoms embraced since the Czech Republic threw off communist rule at the end of the Cold War and Taiwan emerged from martial law at the end of the 1980s.

“In 1963, the American president JFK, in his famous speech ‘I’m a Berliner,’ clearly opposed communism and political oppression and supported the people of West Berlin,” Vystrcil said. “He said ‘Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.’”

“Please let me use the same manner to express my support to the people of Taiwan: ‘I’m a Taiwanese,’” he said, speaking the last phrase in Mandarin Chinese.

Defying China's wrath, Czech senator delivers Taiwan speech

September 01, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Defying anger from China, the president of the Czech Republic’s Senate addressed Taiwan’s legislature on Tuesday, offering a strong rebuke of authoritarian politics and Beijing’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy.

Milos Vystrcil concluded a speech that underscored shared democratic values by proclaiming in Mandarin that “I am Taiwanese,” a throwback to former U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s famed 1963 anti-communist speech in a then-divided Berlin in which he declared he was a Berliner.

Beijing is furious about the Czech delegation’s visit, with the foreign ministry summoning the Czech Republic’s ambassador to lodge stern representations on Monday and saying the visit amounted to “flagrant support of Taiwan independence.”

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and strongly objects to any official contact between other countries and the self-governing island. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying condemned Vystrcil's visit, saying, "he is openly supporting the separatist forces and separatist activities in Taiwan that seriously violate China’s sovereignty and China’s internal affairs.”

She echoed a warning from Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who said in Europe on Monday that “the Chinese government and people will not sit by and let this go unchecked, and will definitely make them pay a heavy price for their short-sighted behavior and political opportunism.”

Following meetings in Berlin with Wang, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency, said he had been in touch with his Czech colleague about the Senate president’s visit.

“Europeans operate in foreign and security policy very closely with one another and we treat our international partners with respect, and we expect that from them as well,” Maas said. “Threats are not a part of that.”

Wang defended China’s response, saying that the Czech delegation was “mixing in China’s internal affairs.” “China must react adequately,” he said through a translator. “There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of China.”

In his address, Vystrcil directly referenced Kennedy’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech, and emphasized democratic freedoms embraced since the Czech Republic threw off communist rule at the end of the Cold War and Taiwan emerged from martial law at the end of the 1980s.

“In 1963, the American president JFK, in his famous speech ‘I’m a Berliner,’ clearly opposed communism and political oppression and supported the people of West Berlin,” Vystrcil said. “He said ‘Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.'"

“Please let me use the same manner to express my support to the people of Taiwan: I’m a Taiwanese,” he said, speaking the last phrase in Mandarin Chinese. Vystrcil's visit follows a spat last year between Beijing and Prague, the Czech Republic's capital. The two cities ended a sister-cities agreement because Beijing had wanted Prague to agree to the “one-China” principle, which is China’s stance that Taiwan is a part of its territory.

The visit is also in direct opposition to Czech President Milos Zeman, who has taken strongly pro-China views. Vystrcil is to meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen later in the week. Amid China's campaign of diplomatic isolation and military threats, Taiwan has been blocked from participating in major international forums and now has just 15 formal allies. Despite the lack of official ties, the U.S. remains Taiwan's closest partner and source of weaponry to counter China's threat to bring the island under its control by military means.

Following his speech, Vystrcil told reporters that his visit was consistent with Prague's interpretation of the “one-China policy" and wasn't intended as an affront to Beijing. “And something I wish to emphasize is that we are in no way opposing mutual benefits and equal relations with the People’s Republic of China as much as we want to have mutual benefits and equal relations with Taiwan,” Vystrcil said.

Taiwanese parliamentary Speaker Yu Shyi-kun said the Czech delegation's visit was an affirmation of Taiwan's continued presence on the world stage as well as a repudiation of authoritarianism. “On one hand, (Vystrcil's) visit is proof of the existence of Taiwan. Proof to the world that Taiwan exists," Yu said.

“At the same time, the visit makes me feel that, no matter whether it be the governments and peoples of the Czech Republic or Taiwan, we all have one thing in common, we both fight against an authoritarian regime and mutually create a future.”

In Prague, Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek told Czech public television Tuesday the government informed China that no change had been made in national policy regarding its relationship with Taiwan. Petricek however, did take note of China's comments on Vystrcil's visit.

“I believe that the trip of Mr. Vystrcil will not harm our relations with China. We want to continue to work on our strategic dialogue but we cannot agree and have to protest at a moment when we can hear such strong statements,” Petricek said.

Associated Press journalists Johnson Lai in Taipei, Taiwan, and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report.

Defying China, Czech delegation arrives in Taiwan

August 30, 2020

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The president of the Czech Senate arrived in Taiwan on Sunday on a visit that has drawn sharp criticism from China. Milos Vystrcil was accompanied by Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib and more than 80 representatives from government, business and academia, lending Taiwan a boost in its efforts to resist the diplomatic isolation imposed by Beijing.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu greeted the delegation at Taiwan's main Taoyuan International Airport after their arrival on a flight chartered from Taiwanese flag carrier China Airlines. China last week denounced Vystrcil’s visit as “undermining the political foundation of China-Czech relations” and said participants were acting out of “their own interests.”

“China condemns this despicable act and urges the Czech side to abide by the one-China principle and handle Taiwan-related issues in a prudent and appropriate manner,” foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters on Thursday.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory and its increasing diplomatic pressure has reduced the number of the self-governing island’s formal allies to just 15, most of them small countries in the Pacific, Central America and the Caribbean.

Taiwan’s robust democracy and strong defense of civil liberties mark a stark contrast to China’s one-party authoritarian political system, making it a draw for some European politicians who recall Soviet dominance of Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

Vystrcil’s six-day visit follows complaints from the Czech side that China was introducing unwanted political elements into their relations, part and parcel of China's more aggressive foreign policy under Communist Party leader Xi Jinping that is centered on asserting the country's territorial claims and shielding the regime from criticism.

Prague and Beijing severed sister city relations after China refused to remove language from the agreement dictating that the city’s government endorse the “one-China principle” that defines Taiwan as part of China.

Shanghai then also ended its sister city relationship with Prague, and China reportedly threatened to cut all such ties to cities that maintained their relations with Prague. During his visit, Vystrcil is due to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who is detested by Beijing for her assertions of the island’s independence.

Vystrcil’s predecessor, Jaroslav Kubera, had planned to travel to Taiwan, angering pro-China Czech President Milos Zeman. Kubera died in January before making the trip and Vystrcil said China’s pressure, including a warning from the Chinese Embassy against congratulating Tsai on her reelection, contributed to his decision to travel to the island.

Taiwan’s high-tech companies are also major investors in the Czech Republic, somewhat reducing China’s economic leverage over the country.

Japan's 'flying car' gets off ground, with a person aboard

August 28, 2020

TOKYO (AP) — The decades-old dream of zipping around in the sky as simply as driving on highways may be becoming less illusory. Japan’s SkyDrive Inc., among the myriads of “flying car” projects around the world, has carried out a successful though modest test flight with one person aboard.

In a video shown to reporters on Friday, a contraption that looked like a slick motorcycle with propellers lifted several feet (1-2 meters) off the ground, and hovered in a netted area for four minutes.

Tomohiro Fukuzawa, who heads the SkyDrive effort, said he hopes “the flying car” can be made into a real-life product by 2023, but he acknowledged that making it safe was critical. “Of the world’s more than 100 flying car projects, only a handful has succeeded with a person on board,” he told The Associated Press.

“I hope many people will want to ride it and feel safe.” The machine so far can fly for just five to 10 minutes but if that can become 30 minutes, it will have more potential, including exports to places like China, Fukuzawa said.

Unlike airplanes and helicopters, eVTOL, or “electric vertical takeoff and landing,” vehicles offer quick point-to-point personal travel, at least in principle. They could do away with the hassle of airports and traffic jams and the cost of hiring pilots, they could fly automatically.

Battery sizes, air traffic control and other infrastructure issues are among the many potential challenges to commercializing them. “Many things have to happen,” said Sanjiv Singh, professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, who co-founded Near Earth Autonomy, near Pittsburgh, which is also working on an eVTOL aircraft.

“If they cost $10 million, no one is going to buy them. If they fly for 5 minutes, no one is going to buy them. If they fall out of the sky every so often, no one is going to buy them,” Singh said in a telephone interview.

The SkyDrive project began humbly as a volunteer project called Cartivator in 2012, with funding by top Japanese companies including automaker Toyota Motor Corp., electronics company Panasonic Corp. and video-game developer Bandai Namco.

A demonstration flight three years ago went poorly. But it has improved and the project recently received another round of funding, of 3.9 billion yen ($37 million), including from the Development Bank of Japan.

The Japanese government is bullish on “the Jetsons” vision, with a “road map” for business services by 2023, and expanded commercial use by the 2030s, stressing its potential for connecting remote areas and providing lifelines in disasters.

Experts compare the buzz over flying cars to the days when the aviation industry got started with the Wright Brothers and the auto industry with the Ford Model T. Lilium of Germany, Joby Aviation in California and Wisk, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Kitty Hawk Corp., are also working on eVTOL projects.

Sebastian Thrun, chief executive of Kitty Hawk, said it took time for airplanes, cell phones and self-driving cars to win acceptance. “But the time between technology and social adoption might be more compressed for eVTOL vehicles,” he said.

Chisato Tanaka contributed to this report.

Chinese-born Australian CCTV journalist detained in China

September 01, 2020

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A Chinese-born Australian journalist working for Chinese state television has been detained by authorities in China, Australia's government says. Australian officials had a consular visit via video link with Cheng Lei at a detention facility last Thursday, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement Monday. They will continue to provide assistance and support to her and her family, Payne said.

Australia had been informed by Chinese authorities on Aug. 14 of her detention, but made its first public statement on Monday. Australian authorities have said they do not know why she was detained and declined to give further information, citing privacy concerns. Cheng wored for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television,

On Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said she had no information about Cheng's situation, but accused Canberra of bowing to “pressure from allies,” in an apparent reference to China’s main rival, the U.S.

Cheng's detention comes amid a major downturn in China's relations with Australia, a major source of the natural resources needed for its manufacturing-based economy, but also a close ally of the U.S., with which China is engaged in a competition for military dominance in the South China Sea among other sources of tensions.

Ties between Australia and China have soured in recent years over issues from market access for Chinese tech giant Huawei, to allegations of Chinese meddling in Australia’s domestic politics and Canberra"s support for an independent investigation into the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic that is believed to have started in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

“Also I would like to stress that as China acts in accordance with law, unlike certain countries, we will not bow to pressure from allies and engage in something illegal in the name of law,” Hua told reporters at a daily briefing.

Cheng had not been charged, but was being held under what is called “residential surveillance at a designated location," Australian media reported Tuesday. It is a form of detention in which investigators can imprison and question a suspect for up to six months without a formal arrest.

Cheng’s two young children are with family members in the Australian city of Melbourne. “As a family, we are aware of the current situation with regard to Cheng Lei’s status as advised by the (Australian) Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade," the family said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to a “satisfactory and timely conclusion to the matter.”

“In China, due process will be observed," the family said. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said on Tuesday the government did not know why Cheng had been detained. “We are obviously engaging where we can with Ms. Cheng Lei,” Birmingham told Nine Network television.

“We will continue ... to work as best we can in providing her and her family with assistance through what is no doubt a stressful and difficult time for them,” he added. Australia in July warned its citizens of a risk of arbitrary detention in China, as relations between the free trade partners have soured in recent years. China dismissed the warning as disinformation.

Australia has criticized China for charging Chinese-Australian spy novelist Yang Hengjun with espionage in March. He has been detained since January last year. Australian Karm Gilespie was sentenced to death in China in June, seven years after he was arrested and charged with attempting to board an international flight with more than 7.5 kilograms (16.5 pounds) of methamphetamine. Some observers suspect that such a severe sentence so long after the crime was related to the bilateral rift.

Cheng is an anchor for CGTN's BizAsia program. She was born in China and worked in finance in Australia before returning to China and starting a career in journalism with CCTV in Beijing in 2003. She has reported on major Chinese events including Beijing’s 2008 Olympics and Shanghai’s 2010 World Expo.

China restaurant collapses during birthday party, killing 29

August 30, 2020

BEIJING (AP) — Rescue efforts ended at a two-story restaurant in a northern China village that collapsed during an 80th birthday celebration for a resident, leaving 29 dead, authorities said Sunday. The Ministry of Emergency Management said another 28 people were injured, seven of them seriously, when the building suddenly crumbled on Saturday. A total of 57 people were brought out alive, the ministry said.

There was no immediate word on what caused the collapse or on the fate of the birthday guest and other celebrants. Hundreds of rescue workers using sniffer dogs, cranes and high-tech sensors had searched the rubble, lifting slabs of concrete in hopes of freeing survivors.

The official China Daily newspaper said the building collapsed at 9:40 a.m. on Saturday. It said the Cabinet’s Work Safety Commission would oversee the investigation into the accident’s cause. While China has seen major improvements in industrial safety, building standards are sometimes ignored, particularly in rural areas such as Shanxi province’s Xiangfen county, about 630 kilometers (400 miles) southwest of Beijing, where the restaurant was located.

The region lies in the heart of China's coal country, where thousands of miners have died in explosions, collapses and floods over past years.

Greek FM heads to UN amid tense standoff with Turkey

September 04, 2020

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s foreign minister is heading to New York for talks with the United Nations secretary general, amid escalating tensions with Turkey over maritime boundaries. The Foreign Ministry said Nikos Dendias was traveling Friday for a meeting with Antonio Guterres. Talks will focus on “issues of international and regional interest, with an emphasis on current developments in the eastern Mediterranean and the Cyprus issue, as well as the role of the U.N.”

Neighbors and NATO allies Greece and Turkey have been locked in a tense standoff in the eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey is prospecting the seabed for energy reserves in an area Greece claims as its own continental shelf. Ankara says it has every right to prospect there, and accuses Greece of trying to grab an unfair share of maritime resources.

Greece’s armed forces have been placed on alert. Both countries have sent warships to the area and have been carrying out live-fire exercises between the islands of Crete and Cyprus and Turkey’s southern coast, while simulated dogfights between Greek and Turkish fighter pilots have multiplied over the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean. A Turkish and a Greek frigate collided last month, reportedly causing minor damage to the Turkish frigate but no injuries.

The current crisis is the most serious in the two countries’ relations in decades. The neighbors have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s, including once over maritime resources in the Aegean Sea along which both share a border.

On Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the two sides had agreed to start “technical talks” to reduce the risks of military “incidents and accidents.” But Athens quickly denied any such agreement, saying neighboring Turkey must first withdraw its ships from the area where it is carrying out gas and oil prospecting. Ankara, on the other hand, said it backs Stoltenberg’s initiative for military and technical talks and called on Greece to do the same.

UN-backed court to issue verdicts in Lebanon's Hariri case

August 17, 2020

BEIRUT (AP) — More than 15 years after the truck bomb assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut, a U.N.-backed tribunal in the Netherlands is announcing verdicts this week in the trial of four members of the militant group Hezbollah allegedly involved in the killing, which deeply divided the tiny country.

The verdicts on Tuesday at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, based in a village on the outskirts of the Dutch city of The Hague, are expected to further add to soaring tensions in Lebanon, two weeks after a catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port that killed nearly 180 people, injured more than 6,000 and destroyed thousands of homes in the Lebanese capital.

Unlike the blast that killed Hariri and 21 others on Feb. 14, 2005, the Aug. 4 explosion was believed to be a result of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that accidentally ignited at Beirut's port. While the cause of the fire that provided the trigger is still not clear, Hezbollah, which maintains huge influence over Lebanese politics, is being sucked into the public fury directed at the country’s ruling politicians.

Even before the devastating Beirut port blast, the country’s leaders were concerned about violence after the verdicts. Hariri was Lebanon’s most prominent Sunni politician at the time, while the Iran-backed Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim group.

Tensions between Sunni and Shiites in the Middle East have fueled deadly conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen and to a smaller scale in Lebanon. Some Lebanese see the tribunal as an impartial way of uncovering the truth about Hariri’s slaying, while Hezbollah — which denies involvement — calls it an Israeli plot to tarnish the group.

One analyst believes the lengthy investigation and trial have rendered the result almost redundant. The defendants remain at large. Michael Young of Carnegie Middle East Center wrote recently that the verdicts “will seem like little more than a postscript to an out-of-print book.”

“The U.N. investigation was glowingly referred to once as a mechanism to end impunity. It has proven to be exactly the contrary,” Young wrote, saying those believed to have carried out the assassination “risk almost nothing today.”

But for others, especially those more closely linked to the violence that has plagued Lebanon, the verdicts still carry significance. “It’s going to be a great, great moment not only for me as a victim but for me as a Lebanese, as an Arab and as an international citizen looking for justice everywhere,” said prominent former legislator and ex-Cabinet Minister Marwan Hamadeh, who was seriously wounded in a blast four months before Hariri’s assassination. Hamadeh said those who killed Hariri were behind the attempt on his life. The tribunal has indicted one of the suspects in Hariri’s assassination with involvement in the attempt on Hamadeh’s life.

Hamadeh resigned as a member of parliament in protest a day after the Beirut port blast. Hariri was killed by a suicide truck bomb on a seaside boulevard in Beirut that killed him and 21 others, and wounded 226 people.

The assassination was seen by many in Lebanon as the work of Syria. It stunned and deeply divided the country, which has since been split between a Western-backed coalition and another supported by Damascus and Iran. Syria has denied having a hand in Hariri’s killing. Following post-Hariri assassination protests, Damascus was forced to withdraw thousands of troops from Lebanon, ending a three-decade domination of its smaller neighbor.

The tribunal was set up in 2007 under a U.N. Security Council resolution because deep divisions in Lebanon blocked parliamentary approval of the court that operates on a hybrid system of Lebanese and international law. The investigation and trial cost about $1 billion, of which Lebanon paid 49% while other nations paid the rest.

Initially, five suspects were tried in absentia in the case, all of them Hezbollah members. One of the group’s top military commanders Mustafa Badreddine was killed in Syria in 2016 and charges against him were dropped.

The other suspects are Salim Ayyash, also known as Abu Salim; Assad Sabra, Hassan Oneissi, who changed his name to Hassan Issa and Hassan Habib Merhi. They are charged with offenses including conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, and face maximum sentences of life imprisonment if convicted. Sentences will not be announced Tuesday but will be determined at later hearings.

The four defendants, however, are unlikely to serve any prison time — they have never been detained despite international arrest warrants and Hezbollah has vowed never to hand over any suspects. Even if they are all convicted, Hezbollah as a group will not officially be blamed as the tribunal only accuses individuals, not groups or states.

Prosecutors based their indictments on telecommunications data of cellular telephones that the suspects allegedly used to track Hariri’s movements starting weeks before the assassination until the explosion occurred. The tribunal heard evidence from 297 witnesses during the trial, which started in 2014 and spanned 415 days of hearings.

Omar Nashabe, who served as a consultant for the defense team in the tribunal for about five years, said that since there was no consensus in Lebanon over the tribunal and parliament did not approve it, the trial “may not be the best process to reach justice in such cases.”

He said that the people of Lebanon are divided between some who want the tribunal to confirm their suspicions about the perpetrators and others who continue to see the court as part of a wider conspiracy to discredit Hezbollah.

“Therefore this tribunal is doomed to fail because of the lack of consensus,” Nashabe said, adding that if the defense appeals the case the verdict will not mark the end. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last week insisted on the innocence of the suspects regardless of the verdicts. “For us it will be as if they were never issued,” he said of the verdicts. Nasrallah warned against attempts to exploit the verdicts internally and externally in order to target the group.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the late Hariri, has said he will make a statement regarding the verdicts after they are made public. Asked about concerns over repercussions of the verdict, he said “justice must prevail regardless of the cost.”

Since the assassination in 2005, several top Syrian and Hezbollah security officials have been killed, in what some supporters of the tribunal say were the result of liquidations to hide evidence. Hamadeh, the legislator, called such deaths “Godly justice,” adding that “we don’t know how. Some say they were liquidated by their own teams, some say the Syrian regime got rid of them to put the suspicion and the doubts away, some said internal feuds.”

Associated Press writer Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

Saudi Arabia cautiously welcomes UAE, Israel normalization

August 19, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Wednesday cautiously welcomed an agreement between its close ally the United Arab Emirates and Israel to establish full diplomatic ties and exchange embassies.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the deal, which also halted unilateral annexation by Israel of West Bank territory sought by the Palestinians, “could be viewed as positive.” But he refrained from outright backing the move, while saying that Saudi Arabia was open to establishing similar relations on condition that a peace agreement is reached between Israel and the Palestinians.

Prince Faisal's remarks during a news conference with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas were the first public comment by Saudi Arabia on Thursday’s surprise announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump that his administration helped broker the UAE-Israel agreement.

While Bahrain, Oman and Egypt issued official statements welcoming the agreement, the kingdom did not at the time and did not respond to requests for comment until Wednesday's news conference in Berlin.

The UAE framed its agreement as a successful measure that halted Israeli plans to annex West Bank territory. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has said the suspension is only temporary.

The Palestinians have issued scathing statements saying the UAE undermined Arab consensus and described the move as a “betrayal of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian cause." Saudi Arabia, like other Arab Gulf states, has built quiet ties with Israel over the years, in part because of shared concerns over Iran and its policies in the region.

The kingdom, however, is home to Islam’s holiest site and has historically positioned itself as a defender of Islam and Muslims, a title that foes Turkey and Iran have also tried to claim. King Salman is also seen as a steadfast supporter of the Palestinians, but his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has expressed more willingness for the kingdom to engage with Israel.

“We are committed to the Arab Peace Plan and that is the best way forward to a settlement of the conflict and to normalization with Israel with all states,” the Saudi foreign minister told reporters in Berlin. “That said, any efforts that could promote peace in the region and that result in holding back the threat of annexation could be viewed as positive.”

Prince Faisal noted that the Arab Peace Initiative — sponsored by Saudi Arabia in 2002 — promises Israel full ties with Arab states if a peace settlement is reached with the Palestinians. Conditions for that, however, must be based on internationally recognized parameters, he said.

“Once that is achieved, then all things are possible," Prince Faisal said. He reiterated the kingdom’s long-held public stance that a future Palestinian state should include east Jerusalem as its capital.

Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

At least 11 killed in bomb attacks in southern Philippines

August 24, 2020

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Suspected Islamic militants set off bombs in a southern Philippine town on Monday, killing at least 11 soldiers and civilians despite extra tight security because of threats of suicide attacks by Islamic State group-aligned rebels, officials said.

Nearly 40 soldiers, police and civilians were wounded in the attacks, military and police officials said. Regional military commander Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan said at least five soldiers and four civilians were killed in the first attack, when a bomb attached to a motorcycle exploded at noon near two parked army trucks in front of a grocery store and computer shop in Jolo town in Sulu province.

“It was a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device which exploded while our soldiers were on a marketing run,” Vinluan told reporters. A second blast nearby, apparently from a female suicide attacker, occurred about an hour later and killed the bomber and a soldier and wounded several others, a military report said. It said the suspected bomber walked out of a snack shop, approached soldiers who were securing a Roman Catholic cathedral and “suddenly blew herself up.”

Snipers were deployed in the area to guard against more bombers as the victims were carried to an ambulance. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Ronald Mateo said a seventh soldier was also killed in the bombings but did not provide further details.

A third unexploded bomb was reportedly found in a public market. Jolo was immediately placed in a security lockdown by troops and police. The bombings were the deadliest attack in the country this year and were staged as the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque condemned the bombings “in the strongest possible terms.”

Initial pictures seen by The Associated Press showed soldiers carrying a man from the scene of the explosion near an army truck while another victim lay on the road. The wreckage of a motorcycle and body parts were seen on the road.

The first bombing was carried out near a town plaza and the cathedral in the predominantly Muslim province. The country’s southern region is home to minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic nation and has been the scene of decades of Muslim separatist unrest, particularly in remote island provinces such as Jolo.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but the military blamed an Abu Sayyaf militant commander, Mundi Sawadjaan. Military officials said last week that Sawadjaan had plotted bombings in Sulu using two female suicide attackers. Army troops were carrying out a covert operation to locate and capture Sawadjaan and the suicide bombers in June when four army personnel were stopped at a Jolo police checkpoint and later shot to death by a group of policemen.

The army angrily described the killings as a rub out and demanded murder charges be filed immediately against nine policemen. Police officials, however, say it may have been a mistaken encounter between the army and police forces.

The military has been waging a monthslong offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, a small but violent group aligned with the Islamic State group and listed by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist group for past bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings.

Its armed fighters have dwindled in number to a few hundred in recent years due to battle setbacks and surrenders, including a key commander, Abduljihad Susukan, who gave up to authorities two weeks ago after being wounded in battle.

Susukan has been blamed for kidnappings and beheadings of hostages, including foreign tourists. He reportedly surrendered through a Muslim rebel chief who has signed a peace deal and was cooperating with the government.

Military officials said they were not discounting the possibility that Monday’s bombings were staged partly in retaliation for the detention of Susukan, who is now in police custody and faces multiple murder and kidnapping charges.

Hospital: Russia's Alexei Navalny out of coma, is responsive

September 08, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — Poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's condition has improved, allowing doctors to take him out of an induced coma, the German hospital treating him said Monday. Navalny, a fierce, high-profile critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was flown to Germany last month after falling ill on Aug. 20 on a domestic flight in Russia. German chemical weapons experts say tests show the 44-year-old was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent, prompting the German government last week to demand that Russia investigate the case.

“The patient has been removed from his medically induced coma and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation," Berlin’s Charite hospital said in a statement. ”He is responding to verbal stimuli. It remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning."

It added that the decision to publicly release details of his condition was made in consultation with Navalny's wife. Navalny had been in an induced coma in the Berlin hospital since he was flown to Germany on Aug. 22 for treatment.

News of his gradual recovery came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office indicated that she might be willing to rethink the fate of a controversial German-Russian gas pipeline project — a sign of Berlin's growing frustration over Moscow’s stonewalling about the Navalny case.

German authorities said last week that tests showed “proof without doubt” that Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group. British authorities identified the Soviet-era Novichok as the poison used on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018.

Many countries joined Germany in calling for a full investigation after the revelation, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week calling the use of a chemical weapon “outrageous.” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that the poisoning esd “completely reprehensible” and that the U.S. was "working with our allies and the international community to hold those in Russia accountable.”

On Monday, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab summoned Russia's ambassador to register his “deep concern about the poisoning,” he said on Twitter. “It’s completely unacceptable that a banned chemical weapon has been used and Russia must hold a full, transparent investigation,” Raab said, while greeting the news that Navalny had been taken out of the medically-induced coma.

Russia has denied that the Kremlin was involved in poisoning Navalny and accused Germany failing to provide evidence about the poisoning that it requested in late August. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Sunday that the Russian reaction could determine whether Germany changes its long-standing backing for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will bring Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine.

“The chancellor also believes that it's wrong to rule anything out,” Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters Monday. Previously, Merkel had insisted on “decoupling” the Navalny case from the pipeline project that is strongly opposed by the U.S. and strongly favored by Russia.

In August, three U.S. Republican senators threatened sanctions against the operator of a German Baltic Sea port for its role as a staging post for ships involved in building Nord Stream 2. Seibert cautioned that it was premature to expect Moscow to respond to the request for help with the Navalny probe within a few days, but made it clear that Berlin wants answers soon.

“I can't express a clear, time-limited expectation, except that we are certainly not talking about months or the end of the year,” he said. German diplomats rejected the Russian suggestion that Berlin was to blame for any delay in investigating the case, noting that Navalny was first treated for suspected poisoning in the Siberian city of Omsk on Aug. 20.

“All evidence, witnesses, traces and so forth are in the place where the crime was committed, presumably somewhere in Siberia,” said German Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger. The co-leader of Germany's opposition Green party, Robert Habeck, called on the government to take a stronger stance and “bury” the pipeline project.

The project “divides Europe, it is economically nonsensical and oversized, and it is wrong in security policy terms,” Habeck said. Completing it “would mean that Russia can do what it wants. This signal must not be sent.”

Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian envoy to international organizations in Vienna, voiced suspicions about the timing of demands to link the pipeline with the Navalny case. “Suspicious coincidence of Navalny case and the final stage of Nord Stream 2 construction, which some states desperately want to be closed. I am not fond of conspiracy theories but it is obvious that the tragic events with Navalny are very timely and helpful for opponents of NS2," he tweeted.

Geir Moulson and David Rising in Berlin and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

Fearing virus, parents in Spain rise against back to school

September 08, 2020

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ángela López hardly fits the profile of a rule-breaker. But the mother of a 7-year-old girl with respiratory problems has found herself among parents ready to challenge Spanish authorities on a blanket order to return to school.

They are wary of safety measures they see as ill-funded as a new wave of coronavirus infections sweeps the country. They fear sick students could infect relatives who are at higher risk of falling ill from COVID-19. And they claim that they have invested in computers and better network connections to prepare for online lessons, even preparing to homeschool their children if necessary.

Many of the defiant parents, including López, are also ready to stand up to the country’s rigid, one-size-fits-all rule of mandatory in-school education, even if that means facing charges for truancy, which in Spain can be punished with three to six months in prison.

Her daughter was born with a condition that makes her prone to suffer episodes of bronchial spasms, which can cause difficulty breathing. With COVID-19 affecting the respiratory system, López doesn’t want to take any risks.

“We feel helpless and a little offended. It’s like they force us to commit an illegal act because they don’t give us a choice,” said López, who lives in Madrid. “It’s a matter of statistics," she added. "The more cases there are, the more likely you are to catch it.”

More than half a million people have contracted the virus in Spain and at least 29,500 have died with it, although the official record leaves out many who perished in March and April without being previously tested.

With an average of 229 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants over the past two weeks, Spain currently has the highest rate of contagion in western Europe. Within the region, it leads what many experts are already calling a second wave of the pandemic, although the Spanish government insists that it now identifies most of the infections because it’s testing more and better.

Officials also say that more than half of those infected now show no symptoms, which explains why hospitals that struggled at the peak of the epidemic in spring are seeing fewer COVID-19 patients this time.

As cases continue to go up and fuel debate in parents’ group messaging chats, Spanish authorities last week issued revised guidelines for the reopening. They included mandatory masks for students 6 and older, daily body temperature checks, hand-washing at least five times per day and frequent ventilation of classrooms.

The Ministry of Health has also recommended setting up so-called “bubble-classrooms” where a reduced number of students interact only among themselves, and “COVID coordinators” in every school who can react quickly if an outbreak is identified.

But many parents say funding is insufficient to hire more teachers and that some schools just don't have additional space. They also see an inconsistency in authorities allowing up to 25 children in classrooms while banning large meetings of people or imposing curbs on nightlife in response to surging contagion. In Madrid, those restrictions have been expanded even to private homes, where no gatherings of more than 10 relatives or friends are allowed.

Over 8 million students in Spain are beginning the academic year this week or next, with the starting date varying in each of its 17 regions and according to education levels. Although scientists are still studying the role children play in spreading COVID-19, younger children appear less infectious than teenagers. Children mostly suffer only mild infections when they catch the virus, but in rare cases they can get severe illness and studies have shown they can transmit COVID-19 to others in their households, including their parents.

Aroha Romero, a mother of two from the eastern region of Valencia, said the lack of clarity increases her anxiety. “I would rather be threatened (to be charged with absenteeism) than have my children be motherless due to the coronavirus,” she said

Lorenzo Cotino, a law professor at the University of Valencia who has studied the impact of legislation in education, noted that schooling is widely supported in Spain since a 1970 law made physical attendance mandatory, reducing social divisions.

The pandemic has reinforced the idea that “equality and schooling go hand in hand," Cotino said, because "children in marginalized groups with less internet access received a poorer education at home.”

The families contesting the status quo say Spain's constitution gives them freedom to keep their children away from school. But there is neither a legal umbrella for homeschooling, nor is there a system that sets standards for studying at home.

The situation is similar in Germany, where homeschooling is illegal, although there has been enthusiasm there about the return to schools, and in Britain, where very high attendance rates followed last week's reopening. The British government has pledged to only fine parents not sending their children back as a “last resort.”

Even in European countries where homeschooling is allowed, the practice is not as widespread as in the United States. A longstanding distance learning system for all ages exists in France but parents can also choose to privately educate their children.

French education authorities say it’s too early in the academic year to identify if the coronavirus is driving a homeschooling trend. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has warned of a “risk of social exclusion for not returning to school." And although he said there is “no such thing as zero risk," he said both students and teachers "will be much safer in educational centers than in other places."

His education minister, Isabel Celaá, has acknowledged that a number of students will miss the return to school for medical reasons. But stressing the existing punishment for absenteeism, she said last week that in-school learning “cannot be replaced by homeschooling.”

Irene Briones, a law professor at Madrid’s Complutense University, said that "if truancy numbers increase massively, nothing will happen" because “it’s not in the government’s interest” to go against large numbers of parents.

When Spain went into a strict three-month lockdown last spring, millions of students were forced to finish school from home and parents suddenly became teachers. Online classes helped a great deal and set the path towards a new way of learning in COVID-19 times, families said.

The demand now is that online education becomes standardized with an official digital learning program that will help students keep up with the coursework at least through December, during the first trimester of the academic year. They also say that laptops and other equipment should be handed out to narrow the technology divide between families.

“We will defend ourselves using all legal tools and arguments” if authorities and families don’t reach an agreement, says Josu Gómez, whose Safe Return to School association has enlisted nearly 1,500 families in three weeks. A further 250,000 people have signed in two months a Change.org petition to demand safety measures for kids and teachers in classrooms.

But some are ready to face whatever consequences may come. Romero, the mother of two from Valencia, insisted her kids will stay home as long as infection numbers don’t go down. “If adults can work from home, kids can study from home,” she said.

AP writers Aritz Parra in Madrid, Angela Charlton in Paris, Pan Pylas in London and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report.

UK slaps quarantines on Greek island travelers as cases rise

September 07, 2020

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. on Monday recorded nearly 3,000 new coronavirus cases for the second day running and unveiled a new “islands policy” that will require anyone returning to England from seven Greek islands, including Crete. Mykonos and Santorini, to self-isolate for 14 days.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the U.K. reported 2,948 daily new coronavirus Monday, down from the previous day's number of 2,988, which had been the highest since May. Although the higher cases can partly be attributed to more testing, it's clear there's been an uptick in the past few weeks as lockdown restrictions have been eased. In some places, local outbreaks in Britain have been so severe that many lockdown restrictions have been reimposed.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Monday the situation was “concerning” but denied that the government had lost control over the spread of the virus. He said those under 25 accounted for a large number of the new infections and appealed to them to keep social distancing to protect vulnerable loved ones.

“Don’t infect your grandparents,” he said. Britain’s Conservative government also said Monday that travelers returning from seven Greek islands will have to quarantine for 14 days on their return to England beginning early Wednesday. Lesbos, Serifos, Tinos and Zakynthos have been added to the U.K. quarantine list. The other Greek islands and the mainland remain free of quarantine requirements.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the changes are part of a new targeted risk approach to quarantine requirements to guard against importing coronavirus cases. Britain has Europe's worst death toll from the virus, recording more than 41,500 deaths within 28 days of testing positive. The actual toll is believed to be far higher as the government tally does not include those who died without having been tested.

The spike in U.K. cases follows big increases in Spain and France, both of whom have seen the number of COVID-19 patients being hospitalized rising dramatically during the summer. Spain's Health Ministry on Monday reported 26,560 new infections since its last report on Friday — an average of 8,800 new infections a day.

France has been averaging over 5,000 new infections a day recently. In France’s second city of Marseille, doctors have raised the alarm that nearly all the intensive care beds reserved for COVID-19 patients are already being used.

Over the past few weeks, British tourists have faced travel chaos as the government tweaked its weekly advice to popular holiday destinations. The travel advice to the two most visited countries, Spain and France, changed at short notice, prompting many travelers to return to the U.K. in the middle of their vacations in order to avoid mandatory quarantines. Spain’s Balearic and Canary Islands remain on the U.K. government’s quarantine list.

The changes in travel advice have also slammed the travel industry. Shapps said the government is “working actively on the practicalities of using testing to release people from quarantine earlier than 14 days."

Many travel companies such as London's Heathrow Airport have urged a ramp-up in testing but the government claims testing is“no silver bullet.” Jim McMahon of the opposition Labour Party said the government’s response during the coronavirus pandemic has been “nothing short of chaotic” and says that ineptitude has been “acutely felt in aviation.”

Aritz Parra in Madrid and Thomas Adamson in Paris contributed.

Health Ministry: 61 local Covid-19 infections, 1 death recorded Monday

9/7/2020

AMMONNEWS - The Ministry of Health said Monday it recorded 67 coronavirus cases in the Kingdom, including 61 local infections, raising the caseload since the outbreak of the pandemic to 2478.

According to the news brief by the Prime Ministry and the health Ministry, the cases were 46 in the Amman Governorate (39 contacts with infected persons and 7 under investigation), 8 in Irbid Governorate and 6 in Balqa Governorate, who all contacted infected people, and 1 case under investigation in Madaba.

It said that 6 of the cases from abroad who were staying at quarantine hotels, while a new death was recorded in the Prince Hamza Government Hospital for a young man in his thirties, bringing the total caseload to 17.

It also said that 61 Covid-19 patients have recovered, including 32 at the Prince Hamza Government Hospital and one at a Dead Sea site for isolating people infected with the virus.

According to the brief, 8967 swab tests were taken, raising the total number of tests to 903365.

The Health Ministry urged adherence to the Defense Order No. 11 of 2020 in view of the infection surge, and to follow safety and prevention criteria, mainly wearing masks, avoiding gatherings of more than 20 people and using the Aman and Sehtak alert applications.

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=43960.

Saudi court issues final verdicts in Khashoggi killing

September 08, 2020

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Saudi court issued final verdicts on Monday in the case of slain Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi after his son, who still resides in the kingdom, announced pardons that spared five of the convicted individuals from execution.

While the trial draws to its conclusion in Saudi Arabia, the case continues to cast a shadow over the international standing of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose associates have been sanctioned by the U.S. and the U.K. for their alleged involvement in the brutal killing, which took place inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

The Riyadh Criminal Court’s final verdicts were announced by Saudi Arabia’s state television, which aired few details about the eight Saudi nationals and did not name them. The court ordered a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the five. Another individual received a 10-year sentence, and two others were ordered to serve seven years in prison.

A team of 15 Saudi agents had flown to Turkey to meet Khashoggi inside the consulate for his appointment on Oct. 2, 2018 to pick up documents that would allow him to marry his Turkish fiance, who waited outside. The team included a forensic doctor, intelligence and security officers, and individuals who worked directly for the crown prince’s office, according to Agnes Callamard, who investigated the killing for the United Nations.

Turkish officials allege Khashoggi was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw inside the consulate. His body has not been found. Turkey apparently had the consulate bugged and shared audio of the killing with the C.I.A., among others.

Western intelligence agencies, as well as the U.S. Congress, have said the crown prince bears ultimate responsibility for the killing and that an operation of this magnitude could not have happened without his knowledge.

The 35-year-old prince denies any knowledge of the operation and has condemned the killing. He continues to have the support of his father, King Salman, and remains popular among Saudi youth at home. He also maintains the support of President Donald Trump, who has defended U.S.-Saudi ties in the face of the international outcry over the slaying.

Saudi Arabia’s trial of the suspects has been widely criticized by rights groups and observers, who note that no senior officials nor anyone suspected of ordering the killing has been found guilty. The independence of the Riyadh Criminal Court has also been questioned.

Callamard, the U.N. special rapporteur who investigated Khashoggi's killing, told The Associated Press in a statement that the crown prince has remained “well protected against any kind of meaningful scrutiny in his country” and the high-level officials who organized the killing have walked free from the start.

“These verdicts cannot be allowed to whitewash what happened,” she said, calling on U.S. intelligence services to publicly release their assessments of the crown prince’s responsibility. “While formal justice in Saudi Arabia cannot be achieved, truth telling can.”

A small number of diplomats, including from Turkey, as well as members of Khashoggi’s family, were allowed to attend the initial trial. Independent media and the public were barred. Yasin Aktay, a senior member of Turkey's ruling party and a friend of Khashoggi, criticized the final court rulings, saying those who ordered the killing remain free while several questions concerning the journalist’s death remain unanswered.

He also said there were questions as to whether those convicted in the killing are imprisoned. “According to what we have heard, those who were convicted are roaming freely and living in luxury,” he said. “The truth of the matter is this case should be tried in Turkey, not in Saudi Arabia.”

Saudi Arabia has tried 11 people in total, sentencing five to death in December and ordering three others to prison for covering up the crime. The crown prince's senior advisors at the time of the killing, namely Saud al-Qahtani and intelligence officer Ahmed al-Asiri, were not found guilty.

The trial also concluded the killing was not premeditated. That paved the way for Salah Khashoggi, one of the slain writer's sons, to months later announce that the family had forgiven the killers, which essentially allowed the five to be pardoned from execution in accordance with Islamic law.

Salah Khashoggi lives in Saudi Arabia and has received financial compensation from the royal court for his father’s killing. Saudi Arabia initially offered shifting accounts about Khashoggi’s disappearance, including claiming to have surveillance video showing him walking out of the consulate alive. As international pressure mounted because of Turkish leaks, the kingdom eventually settled on the explanation that he was killed by rogue officials in a brawl inside the consulate.

Prior to his killing, Khashoggi had been writing critically of Prince Mohammed in columns for the Washington Post at a time when the young heir to the throne was being widely hailed in the U.S. for pushing through social reforms and curtailing the power of religious conservatives.

Dozens of perceived critics of the prince remain in prison, including women's rights activists, and face trial on national security charges. Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia for the U.S. just as Prince Mohammed was beginning to detain writers and critics in late 2017.

Other critics of the crown prince have said their security has been threatened following Khashoggi's killing. In one instance, a former senior intelligence official who now resides in Canada claims in a U.S. lawsuit that Prince Mohammed sent a similar hit squad to track him down and kill him, but that they were stopped by Canadian border guards.

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed.

Amman condemns Kosovo, Serbia's decision to move embassies to Jerusalem

9/7/2020

AMMONNEWS - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Monday inveighed against the decision of both Kosovo and Serbia to move their embassies to Jerusalem, describing it as a "flagrant violation" of international law.

Daifallah Fayez, the Ministry's spokesperson, said that the decision flouts international resolutions, foremost of which are the UN's Security Council resolutions 476, 478 and 2334. He highlighted that the resolutions clearly state that East Jerusalem is an occupied territory where international law is applied.

He said that establishing a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital is the only means to establish a lasting peace to the conflict.

Fayez commended the EU for its position against moving embassies and diplomatic missions to Jerusalem.

Source: Ammon News.
Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=43962.

UK judge rejects bid to delay Assange extradition hearing

September 07, 2020

LONDON (AP) — A British judge on Monday rejected a request by lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to delay his extradition hearing until next year to give his lawyers more time to respond to U.S. allegations that he conspired with hackers to obtain classified information.

The adjournment request came on the first day of a London court hearing where Assange is fighting American prosecutors' attempt to send him to the U.S. to stand trial on spying charges. U.S. prosecutors have indicted the 49-year-old Australian on 18 espionage and computer misuse charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret U.S. military documents a decade ago. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison.

Assange’s lawyers say the prosecution is a politically motivated abuse of power that will stifle press freedom and put journalists around the world at risk. The U.S. Justice Department expanded its case against Assange in a new indictment announced in June, though it did not introduce new charges. But Assange attorney Mark Summers said it was “an impossible task” for the legal team to deal with the new allegations in time for Monday’s court hearing, especially since they had only “limited access” to the imprisoned Assange.

He said District Judge Vanessa Baraitser should excise the new American claims, which he said were sprung on the defense “out of the blue.” The judge rejected the request, saying the defense had declined an earlier opportunity in August to postpone the hearing. The defense then asked for the case to be adjourned until January. Baraitser refused, saying Assange’s lawyers had “ample time” before Monday to express their concerns.

The case has already been held up for months because of the coronavirus pandemic. Assange, who has spent 16 months in a British prison, sat in the dock at the Old Bailey criminal court and formally refused the U.S. extradition demand. Assange, who lawyers say has suffered physical and mental ill-health because of his ordeal, wore a suit and tie and spoke clearly to confirm his name and date of birth.

Several dozen supporters, including fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Assange’s partner, Stella Moris, gathered outside the courthouse, chanting, banging drums and calling his prosecution a threat to press freedom.

“Julian Assange is the trigger, he is shining the light on all the corruption in the world," Westwood said. American authorities allege that Assange conspired with U.S. army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to hack into a Pentagon computer and release hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and military files on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The new June indictment accuses Assange of recruiting hackers at conferences in Europe and Asia, recruiting a teenager to hack into the computer of a former WikiLeaks associate and conspiring with members of hacking groups known as LulzSec and Anonymous. U.S. prosecutors say the evidence underscores Assange’s efforts to procure and release classified information, allegations that form the basis of criminal charges.

Assange’s lawyers, however, argue that he is a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection and say the leaked documents exposed U.S. military wrongdoing. Among the files released by WikiLeaks was video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack by American forces in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.

Assange’s legal troubles began in 2010, when he was arrested in London at the request of Sweden, which wanted to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He refused to go to Stockholm, saying he feared extradition or illegal rendition to the United States or to the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In 2012, Assange sought refuge inside the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he was beyond the reach of U.K. and Swedish authorities — but also effectively a prisoner, unable to leave the tiny diplomatic mission in London. The relationship between Assange and his hosts eventually soured, and he was evicted from the embassy in April 2019. British police immediately arrested him for jumping bail in 2012.

Sweden dropped the sex crimes investigations in November 2019 because so much time had elapsed, but Assange remains in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison as he awaits the extradition decision. Supporters say the ordeal has harmed Assange’s physical and mental health, leaving him with depression, dental problems and a serious shoulder ailment. The hearing is expected to include expert psychiatric evidence about his mental state.

Journalism organizations and human rights groups have urged Britain to refuse the extradition request. Amnesty International said Assange was “the target of a negative public campaign by U.S. officials at the highest levels.”

The extradition hearing opened in February but was put on hold when the U.K. went into lockdown in March to slow the spread of coronavirus. It is resuming with social distancing measures in court and video feeds so journalists and observers can watch remotely.

The case is due to run until early October. The judge is expected to take weeks or even months to consider her verdict, with the losing side likely to appeal.

Climate activists block Warsaw street, decry govt inaction

September 07, 2020

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A few hundred Polish climate activists blocked traffic in downtown Warsaw on Monday to spur the conservative government into protecting the environment better. It was the second action since Saturday by Poland’s chapter of the Extinction Rebellion climate protection group that says world leaders are not doing enough to counter climate change.

With chants and banners saying "We are Rebelling in Order to Live,” the group blocked a major street in the Polish capital, holding up morning traffic. The police checked their documents and carried protesters to the side to clear the way.

Largely powered by coal, Poland has some of Europe’s worst quality air. Also, pollution levels in many of its rivers and lakes are below European Union quality standards.