Tensions mount as Armenia and Azerbaijan continue fighting

September 29, 2020

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian and Azerbaijani forces accused each other of attacks on their territory Tuesday, as fighting over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh continued for a third straight day following the resumption of violence in the decades-old conflict.

The renewed fighting prompted calls from around the world for a cease-fire, before hostilities escalate. Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said Armenian forces shelled the Dashkesan region in Azerbaijan. Armenian officials said Azerbaijani forces opened fire on a military unit in the Armenian town of Vardenis, setting a bus on fire and killing one civilian.

Armenia's Foreign Ministry denied shelling the Dashkesan region and said the reports were laying the groundwork for Azerbaijan “expanding the geography of hostilities, including the aggression against the Republic of Armenia."

Dozens were killed and wounded since fighting broke out Sunday. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Ministry reported 84 servicemen killed. Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev said Tuesday that 10 civilians were killed on its side, but he didn't detail the country's military casualties.

Nagorno-Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994 at the end of a separatist war following the breakup of the Soviet Union three years earlier.

The region in the Caucasus Mountains of about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), or about the size of the U.S. state of Delaware, is 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Armenian border. Soldiers backed by Armenia also occupy some Azerbaijani territory outside the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for “an immediate cease-fire and a return to the negotiating table" in phone calls with the leaders of both countries, her office said. She told them the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe offers an appropriate forum for talks and that the two countries’ neighbors “should contribute to the peaceful solution,” said her spokesman, Steffen Seibert.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during a visit to Greece that “both sides must stop the violence" and work "to return to substantive negotiations as quickly as possible.” Turkey supports Azerbaijan in the conflict, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urging Armenia to withdraw immediately from the separatist region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey is “by Azerbaijan’s side on the field and at the (negotiating) table.” Cavusoglu said the international community must defend Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in the same way it defended the integrity of Ukraine and Georgia.

“They are holding Azerbaijan, whose territories have been occupied, on an equal footing with Armenia. This is a wrong and unjust approach," Cavusoglu said after a visit to Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Ankara.

Russia, which along with France and the United States co-chairs the Minsk group set up in 1992 to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, urged every country to help facilitate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“We call on all countries, especially our partners such as Turkey, to do everything to convince the opposing parties to cease fire and return to peacefully resolving the conflict by politico-diplomatic means,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.

Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova in Moscow, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed.

Turkish Cypriots pick leader as stakes soar in Mediterranean

October 18, 2020

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Turkish Cypriots began voting Sunday in a leadership runoff between an incumbent who pledges a course less bound by Turkey’s dictates and a challenger who favors even closer ties to Ankara. The stakes have soared as a battle over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean has intensified.

Veteran incumbent Mustafa Akinci, 72, is a champion of Turkish Cypriots who oppose Turkey’s complete domination of their affairs. His hard-line challenger Ersin Tatar, 60, advocates fully aligning Turkish Cypriot policies with those of Turkey, the region's patron.

The Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north that is economically and militarily dependent on Ankara. The island’s internationally recognized government has its seat in the Greek Cypriot south and is part of the 27-nation European Union.

The tussle between Turkish Cypriots who seek to retain more say in how they’re governed and those who want to walk in lockstep with Turkey has been a prominent feature in past leadership races but this contest seems more polarized than ever.

Akinci has alleged that Turkey has engaged in “unprecedented” interference throughout the campaign in favor of Tatar and that he and his family have received threats to drop out of the race. “We know that things happened that shouldn't have happened," Akinci said after casting his ballot, adding that he wishes voters will look back on Sunday's election with “pride for Turkish Cypriot democracy and will."

Tatar edged out Akinci in the first round of voting by less than three percentage points but Akinci now has clinched support from the third-place candidate. Analyst Tumay Tugyan says the contest could go either way as Tatar courted a significant pool of voters from the approximately 200,000-strong electorate — especially in rural areas — who may not have voted in the first round.

Tatar urged voters to get out and beat the first round’s record-low turnout. “The important thing is to reflect our will and send out a message to the world," Tatar said after voting. A first test for the winner will be a meeting with Greek Cypriots and Cyprus’ ‘guarantors’ — Greece, Turkey and Britain — that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected call soon. The aim will be to figure out if there’s enough common ground to restart dormant peace talks.

Nearly five decades of U.N. facilitated attempts at achieving reunification based on a federal framework have failed. Akinci believes that federation is the only way toward a peace accord. Tatar shares the Turkish government view that federation may not be the most viable option and alternatives such as a two-state deal should be pursued.

Tensions have soared this summer in waters off Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and energy exploration rights after Turkey redeployed a research vessel near the Greek island of Kastellorizo. The move cast doubts on fresh talks aimed at resolving the dispute.

Turkey insists it has every legal right to search for hydrocarbons in waters where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic rights. The Greek and Cypriot governments accuse Turkey of violating international law. The dispute raised fears of a military conflict between Greece and Turkey, NATO members who are strong regional rivals.

Kyrgyzstan's president steps down amid political unrest

October 15, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbai Jeenbekov announced his resignation Thursday in a bid to end the turmoil that has engulfed the Central Asian nation after a disputed parliamentary election.

Jeenbekov, who has faced calls to step down from protesters and political opponents, said in a statement released by his office that holding onto power wasn’t “worth the integrity of our country and harmony in society.”

“For me, peace in Kyrgyzstan, the country’s integrity, the unity of our people and the calm in the society are above all else,” Jeenbekov said. Kyrgyzstan, a country of 6.5 million people located on the border with China, was plunged into chaos following an Oct. 4 vote that election officials say was swept by pro-government parties. The opposition said the election was tainted by vote-buying and other irregularities.

Protesters then took over government buildings, looting some offices, and the Central Election Commission nullified the election. Opposition then announced plans to oust Jeenbekov and form a new government.

Jeenbekov kept a low profile in the first few days after the vote, using the infighting among protest leaders to dig in. He introduced a state of emergency in the capital, Bishkek, which was endorsed Tuesday by parliament.

Authorities deployed troops to Bishkek over the weekend and introduced the curfew. The move eased tensions in the city, where residents feared looting that accompanied previous uprisings and began forming vigilante groups to protect property. Stores and banks that were closed last week have reopened.

In an effort to stem the unrest, Jeenbekov on Wednesday endorsed the appointment of Sadyr Zhaparov, a former lawmaker who was freed from jail by demonstrators last week, as the country's new prime minister and Zhaparov's new Cabinet.

Zhaparov promised his supporters to push for Jeenbekov's resignation and held talks with the president hours after Jeenbekov signed off on his appointment. After the talks, Jeenbekov said he would stay in the job until the political situation in Kyrgyzstan stabilizes.

But hundreds of Zhaparov's supporters rallied in the capital Wednesday, demanding the president's resignation and threatening to storm his residence. Zhaparov promised on Wednesday he would meet with the president again on Thursday to convince him to step down.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the meeting took place, but the protests demanding Jeenbekov's resignation continued Thursday morning. Jeenbekov said in his statement that the situation in Bishkek “remains tense" despite the fact that the new Cabinet was appointed the day before, and that he doesn't want to escalate these tensions.

“On one side, there are the protesters, on the other — law enforcement. Military personnel and law enforcement services are obligated to use weapons to protect the State Residence. In this case, blood will be shed, it is inevitable," Jeenbekov's statement said. “I don't want to go down in history as a president who shot at his own citizens and shed blood.”

The turmoil marks the third time in 15 years that demonstrators have moved to oust a government in Kyrgyzstan, one of the poorest nations to emerge from the former Soviet Union. As in the uprisings that ousted presidents in 2005 and 2010, the current protests have been driven by clan rivalries that shape the country’s politics.

Turkey says Greece failed to fulfill promises, vows response

October 14, 2020

ANKAR, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Greece and Cyprus of failing to fulfill “promises” made during negotiations within the European Union and NATO and said his country would continue to give them “the response they deserve."

Erdogan’s comments came days after Ankara redeployed its search vessel, Oruc Reis, for a new energy exploration mission in disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean, reigniting tensions with Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and exploration rights. Turkish media reports said two navy frigates are shadowing the search vessel.

Those tensions had flared up over the summer, prompting a military buildup, bellicose rhetoric and fears of a confrontation between the two NATO members and historic regional rivals. “Our Oruc Reis has returned to its duty in the Mediterranean,” Erdogan told legislators of his ruling party in a speech in parliament. “We will continue to give the response they deserve on the field, to Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration who have not kept their promises during talks within the EU and NATO platforms.”

He didn't spell out what the promises were but Turkish officials have been accusing Greek officials of engaging in a series of “provocations” despite efforts to revive the so-called exploratory talks between the neighbors that were aimed at resolving disputes and were last held in 2016.

Greece’s government said, meanwhile, that it wouldn't take part in planned exploratory talks with Turkey as long as the survey mission was in progress. “It is impossible to hold talks about a (maritime region) when a survey in that region is underway,” government spokesman Stelios Petsas told private Skai television.

Heiko Maas, the foreign minister of Germany, which has been mediating between Athens and Ankara in a bid to east the tensions, criticized Turkey on Tuesday for taking “unilateral steps” in the eastern Mediterranean which he said were undercutting efforts to deescalate tensions. The U.S. State Department issued a statement deploring Turkey’s move.

Ankara says the Oruc Reis was redeployed following provocative acts by Athens, including a decision to hold military drills in the Aegean Sea on Turkey’s main national holiday. During his speech, Erdogan also rebuffed international criticism over Turkey’s move to open the beachfront of Cyprus’ fenced-off suburb of Varosha in divided Cyprus’ breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

“The fenced-off Varosha region belongs to the Turks of northern Cyprus. This should be known as such,” he said. Varosha remained off-limits and in Turkish military control after its Greek Cypriot residents fled before advancing troops in 1974 when Turkey invaded and sliced the island along ethnic lines after a coup by supporters of union with Greece.

Separately, Erdogan declared that he would on Saturday announce details of the discovery a new natural gas reserve off the Black Sea coast. In August, Turkey announced the discovery of 320 billion cubic meters of gas, which the country said would help ease the country’s dependence on imports.

Associated Press writer Derek Gatopoulos in Athens contributed to this report.

Kyrgyzstan bans rallies, imposes curfew to end turmoil

October 10, 2020

MOSCOW (AP) — Authorities in Kyrgyzstan on Saturday arrested a former president, banned rallies and imposed a curfew in the Central Asian nation's capital, seeking to end a week of turmoil sparked by a disputed parliamentary election.

The declaration of the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. curfew in Bishkek followed President Sooronbai Jeenbekov's decree on Friday announcing a state of emergency in the city until Oct. 21. On his orders, troops deployed to the capital on Saturday to enforce the measure, but it's unclear whether the military and the police would obey the president's orders or side with his rivals if the political infighting escalates.

Jeenbekov has faced calls to step down from thousands of protesters who stormed government buildings a night after pro-government parties reportedly swept parliamentary seats in last Sunday's vote. The demonstrators also freed former President Almazbek Atambayev, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison in June on charges of corruption and abuse of office that he and his supporters described as a political vendetta by Jeenbekov.

Atambayev was arrested again on Saturday on charges of organizing riots, the State Security Committee said in a statement. The turmoil marks the third time in 15 years that protesters have moved to topple a government in Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian nation of 6.5 million people that is one of the poorest to emerge from the former Soviet Union.

As in the uprisings that ousted Kyrgyz presidents in 2005 and 2010, the current protests have been driven by clan rivalries that play a dominant role in the country’s politics. After an initial attempt to break up protesters in the hours after the vote, police have pulled back and refrained from intervening with the demonstrations. Residents of the capital began forming vigilante groups to prevent looting that accompanied previous uprisings in the country.

Under pressure from protesters, the Central Election Commission has overturned the parliamentary vote results and protest leaders have moved quickly to form a new government. An emergency parliament session on Tuesday nominated lawmaker Sadyr Zhaparov as new prime minister, but the move was immediately contested by other protest groups, plunging the country into chaos.

On Friday, supporters of Zhaparov assailed pro-Atambayev demonstrators on Bishkek’s central square, hurling stones and bottles. A man with a pistol fired several shots at Atambayev’s car as it sped away, but the former president was unhurt. Two other politicians affiliated with Atambayev also had their cars shot at as they left the square, their party said. They weren’t injured.

Lawmakers voted again Saturday to seal Zhaparov's appointment, using proxy votes by those who were in the hall to achieve the necessary quorum. Zhaparov told the session that the president promised him he would submit his resignation within several days. Amid the political infighting, Jeenbekov said Thursday he could step down, but only after the situation stabilizes.

The presidential decree introducing the state of emergency needs to be approved by parliament, but lawmakers didn't consider the issue at Saturday's session in apparent defiance of the president. Jeenbekov, who kept a low profile for most of the past week, used the infighting between his foes to dig in. He met with the new chief of the military General Staff on Friday, saying that he relies on the armed forces to help restore order.

“We are witnessing a real threat to the existence of our state,” Jeenbekov said in a statement late Friday. “The peaceful life of our citizens mustn’t be sacrificed to political passions.” Kyrgyzstan is strategically located on the border with China and once was home to a U.S. air base used for refueling and logistics for the war in Afghanistan. The country is a member of Russia-dominated economic and security alliances, hosts a Russian air base and depends on Moscow’s economic support.

The Kremlin voiced concern about the turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, emphasizing the need to quickly stabilize the situation to prevent chaos.

French hostage freed in Mali arrives home in France

October 10, 2020

PARIS (AP) — A 75-year-old French aid worker held hostage for four years by Islamic extremists in Mali was reunited Friday with her grandchildren in France, as relatives also welcomed home two Italians and a Malian politician freed with her this week.

They were released earlier this week, days after the Malian government freed nearly 200 Islamic militants in an apparent prisoner exchange. But the homecoming was muted by the announcement later Friday that a Swiss woman held captive by the same extremist group had been killed. Swiss officials said Beatrice Stoeckli, whose release they had quietly been trying to negotiate since she was kidnapped four years ago, was killed about a month ago. They said they received the information from French authorities, who were notified by “the recently released French hostage.”

“It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of our fellow citizen,” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in a statement. “I condemn this cruel act and express my deepest sympathy to the relatives.”

Earlier Friday, 75-year-old French aid worker Sophie Petronin descended from a plane at the Villacoublay military airport southwest of Paris, where she was greeted by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Wearing a white veil and a trench coat, Petronin held her grandsons in her arms. “The French and I are glad to see you back at last, dear Sophie Petronin,” Macron tweeted. “Welcome home.” Petronin met with Macron for about an hour at the airport. They did not speak to the press.

Macron expressed joy and relief at her release, thanked the Malian authorities and promised that the French military would continue its fight against terrorism in the West African region. In an emotional reunion late Thursday in the Malian capital, Petronin's son Sebastien Chadaud cried when describing how he fought for her release, telling his mother: “I did my best.” She comforted him, saying, “You did what you could.”

As her son kissed her head, she said she just wanted to spend time with him, “to look at him and tell him, ‘Forgive me, I caused you so much pain, so much difficulty, so much work to help me get out.’”

Petronin was released with the two Italians and a prominent Malian politician this week. The Rev. Pierluigi Maccalli and Nicola Chiacchio arrived at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Friday afternoon aboard an Italian government jet, welcomed by Premier Giuseppe Conte and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio. Wearing facemasks over their beards and clad in sweat suits, the two men greeted the officials on the tarmac and then proceeded into an airport VIP lounge.

Soumaila Cisse, a three-time presidential candidate in Mali, recounted months of arduous conditions before a precarious trip to their extraction point, arriving in Mali's capital 48 hours after first being released in the country's remote north.

There was no immediate information about the five other foreign hostages that the Islamic militants from JNIM are believed to still hold. It also was not known whether a ransom was paid, though extremist groups have long funded their operations with such payments from European governments.

Cisse, who had been kidnapped earlier this year while campaigning for re-election as a legislator, told Mali's state broadcaster ORTM that after months of captivity things began to move quickly at the end of September.

He said late Thursday that he had made a proof of life video on Sept. 26, and earlier this week he was freed. Still, security conditions prevented them from reaching the northern town of Tessalit for two more days.

“I spent six months in ... very difficult living conditions, in almost permanent isolation, but I must confess that I was not subjected to any violence, neither physical nor verbal,” Cisse told ORTM. The Italian hostages included Maccalli, a Roman Catholic missionary priest from the African Missionary Society who was kidnapped from neighboring Niger in 2018.

In a tweet, the Italian bishops' conference expressed “gratitude to those who worked for liberation as we continue to pray for those who are missing.” Among those missing is Colombian nun Gloria Cecilia Narváez Argoti, last seen in a 2018 video alongside Petronin.

In Maccalli's birthplace of Crema, a city east of Milan in northern Italy, bells tolled in the cathedral to welcome the news of his liberation. “I hope that the release of Fr. Gigi is a promising sign of hope for all the others who are prisoners for their faith and their struggle for truth, justice and reconciliation; and may it be a seed of peace and trust for the Niger he loves so much," Crema Bishop Daniele Gianotti said.

Looking energetic and determined despite her ordeal, Petronin told French broadcasters that she wants to go back to the northern Malian town of Gao to see the children she was helping before she was kidnapped.

“I made a commitment to the children. For four years I haven’t seen how the programs are working,” she said, referring to her work with orphaned and malnourished children. “I will go to France, to Switzerland, and then I will come back to see what’s happening here.”

During her captivity, Petronin said she was allowed to listen to the radio, and her guards shared messages and videos with her, including one from her son. “I hung on — I prayed a lot because I had a lot of time,” Petronin told reporters at the French Embassy in Bamako. “I transformed detention ... into a spiritual retreat, if one can say that.”

Petronin’s middle-aged son told French reporters that “it was a little boy who found his mom again, and a mom who was comforting her little boy.” He added: “She’s like a block of granite, my mom.”

Ahmed reported from Bamako, Mali. Associated Press writers Nicole Winfield in Rome; Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed.

Nobel win reflects 'hunger for international cooperation'

October 10, 2020

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has fractured global alliances and go-it-alone has turned ugly, some world leaders say Friday's awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the U.N. World Food Program was a commitment to the belief that only a concerted effort can save humanity from further disaster.

“This not only recognizes your tireless work for food security on our planet, but also reminds the key importance of multilateralism that delivers results,” European Council President Charles Michel said in a congratulatory message.

More succinctly: “Multilateralism now more important than ever before," Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven tweeted. Ahead of the announcement, some had speculated that the Nobel might go to a fellow United Nations body, the World Health Organization, which has promoted multilateralism in the face of criticism by President Donald Trump.

But the choice of the WFP — headed by an American, a Trump nominee — was widely seen as supporting the call to global solidarity that the U.N. and others have stressed as confirmed COVID-19 deaths climb past 1 million, and as famine becomes a danger in several countries.

Little symbolizes global connectedness more than the WFP, long the U.N.'s logistics expert, which in responding to the pandemic launched an extraordinary emergency aid delivery service as most global flights were grounded. It involved almost 130 countries, unprecedented in scope. That's on top of its usual work feeding millions of hungry people around the world.

The Nobel Committee made it clear this year's award was a plea for unity. “We are sending a signal to every nation (that) raises objections to international cooperation. We are sending a signal to this type of nationalism where the responsibility for global affairs is not being faced," committee head Berit Reiss-Andersen said shortly after the award was announced. She didn't name names.

She added: “Multilateral cooperation is absolutely necessary to combat global challenges. And multilateralism seems to have a lack of respect these days, and the Nobel Committee definitely wants to emphasize this aspect.”

The renewed call to solidarity faces fearsome challenges. Some rich countries have stockpiled millions of doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines, to the dismay of other nations. And some of the world’s most high-profile leaders have downplayed the pandemic, including Trump, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

All three were later infected by the virus themselves. Alarmed by the apparent chaos, many world leaders used last month’s annual U.N. gathering to issue ringing calls for a return to the multilateralism that the world body has represented for 75 years.

Even before the pandemic, populist forces were pulling unity apart. Brexit was one symbol of the turn inward, along with restrictions against migrants in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. And trade wars among giants rumble on even as COVID-19 rocks economies around the world.

Weary of divisiveness, some on Friday leapt at the Nobel news to issue another urgent warning that unilateralism is bound to fail. “Solidarity is precisely needed now to address not only the pandemic, but other global tests of our time,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

“There is also a hunger in our world for international cooperation," Guterres added. "The World Food Program feeds that need, too. WFP operates above the realm of politics, with humanitarian need driving its operations. The organization itself survives on voluntary contributions from U.N. member states and the public at large.”

That last part was a reminder that the WHO, in the midst of arguably the worst pandemic in a century, stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars per year if the U.S. follows on Trump’s intention to withdraw from it completely. The U.S. had been the health agency’s largest donor until Trump announced a halt to funding earlier this year.

The WFP chief, American David Beasley, in the glow of the Nobel win quickly turned to his cheering colleagues — representing a global collection of staffers, from Kyrgyzstan to Samoa — and said in his southern U.S. twang: “I didn’t win it, you won it.”

As the U.S. woke up Friday to the Nobel announcement, there was no immediate comment from Trump — who has said he would like to win the award himself.

Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this story.

Greek, Turkish foreign ministers meet as tensions ease

October 08, 2020

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey have met on the sidelines of a conference in Slovakia and agreed to set a date for the start of a new round of exploratory talks between the two, officials said Wednesday.

A dispute between the two NATO allies and longtime rivals over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean this summer led to fears of open conflict as warships from both sides faced off. Turkey’s foreign ministry released a short video of Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusloglu meeting on the sidelines of the Globsec Forum in Bratislava. The atmosphere of what both sides said was a brief meeting appeared cordial and even jovial as the two, both wearing masks, bumped elbows, patted each other on the shoulder and stood at a table to talk. “We agreed that the exploratory and confidence-building talks should take place in the period ahead of us,” Cavusloglu said, adding that as host of the meeting, Turkey would be suggesting some dates.

“I told him that it is beneficial to continue a dialogue even under the most difficult conditions, and today, we reached an agreement on continuing (a dialogue),” he said. A Greek diplomatic official said the two agreed to set a date for the exploratory talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal the contents of the meeting. The talks will be the 61st round of a long-running process of talks between Greece and Turkey designed to reduce tension and improve relations that are often testy between the two neighbors.

At odds over a series of issues, including territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea, the two countries have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s. Earlier this summer, Turkey sent a research vessel escorted by warships to prospect for energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean in an area Greece says is over its own continental shelf and where it claims exclusive economic rights.

Greece mobilized its own navy fleet and put its armed forces on standby. The tension has eased in recent weeks, with NATO helping set up a deconfliction mechanism whereby the Greek and Turkish militaries can communicate to avoid an accident that could lead to war and the two sides agree to restart their exploratory talks process.

Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

Hurricane Delta lashes Mexico's Yucatan, then heads for US

October 08, 2020

CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Delta emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday and headed toward Louisiana after making landfall just south of the Mexican resort of Cancun, toppling trees and cutting power to residents of the Yucatan peninsula's resort-studded coast.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Delta weakened to a Category 1 storm during the afternoon, but it began strengthening again while moving over the southern Gulf, rising to maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph) Wednesday night. It was expected to gain even more strengthen before reaching the U.S. Gulf coast.

Delta could make landfall, possibly as a Category 3 storm, sometime Friday south of Morgan City, La., the forecast said. On Wednesday evening, the storm was centered about 525 miles (845 kilometers) south-southeast of Cameron, La., and heading west-northwest at 17 mph (28 kph).

The hurricane came ashore in Mexico around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday with top winds of 110 mph (175 kph). Officials said it caused no deaths or injuries, but did force hundreds of tourists to take refuge in storm shelters. It knocked out power to about 266,000 customers, or about one-third of the total on the Yucatan peninsula.

There were no reports of any deaths or injuries, said Carlos Joaquín González, the governor of the state of Quintana Roo. “Fortunately, the most dangerous part of the hurricane has passed,” Joaquín González said, noting the big problem was downed trees that had knocked out power lines and blocked roadways.

Civil defense official Luís Alberto Ortega Vázquez said that as the storm approached about 39,000 people were evacuated in the states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan. He said about 2,700 people took refuge in storm shelters in the two states.

Joaquín González said Wednesday that most of the tourists had returned to their hotels but a shelter had been opened to accommodate people stranded in Cancun by the cancellation of 157 airline flights. He said the international airport would resume its normal operations Thursday.

There were reports of some flooding in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Overnight emergency calls came in from people whose windows or doors were broken and they were taken to shelters, the governor said.

More than a thousand trees were knocked down by strong winds, but authorities expressed confidence that electricity would be restored to 80% of those affected Wednesday night. Early Wednesday, guests of the Fiesta Americana Condesa hotel awoke in the sweltering classrooms of the Technological Institute of Cancun campus where they had been moved Tuesday.

All of the windows at the campus had been covered with plywood so they couldn't see what was happening, but they said the howling winds started around 2 a.m. and there had been heavy rain. The power — and with it the air conditioning — had been knocked out early Wednesday so it was steamy as tourists used their cell phone light to get up and make their way for a first cup of coffee.

By early afternoon they were returned to their hotel and the state announced that businesses could reopen at 3 p.m. and the ban on alcohol sales was lifted. “The hard part has been the waiting,” said Ana Karen Rodríguez of Monterrey. She and a friend arrived in Cancun Tuesday morning and by afternoon were shuttled to the shelter. She said the hotel had planned well. “It’s been good. I feel comfortable actually.”

Throughout the day Tuesday, the situation had appeared grave for this stretch of the Mexican coast. Delta had increased in strength by 80 mph in just 24 hours, and its top winds peaked at 145 mph (230 kph) before it weakened as it neared the shore.

Evacuations of low lying areas, islands and the shore expanded as Delta exploded over the warm Caribbean waters. Much of Cancun’s hotel zone was cleared out as guests were bused to inland shelters. In Cancun alone, the government opened 160 shelters.

State tourism officials said more than 40,000 tourists were in Quintana Roo, a fraction of what would normally be there. Delta’s damage comes on top of months of pandemic-induced lockdown that has devastated the state’s tourism industry.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said Delta was expected to make landfall there Friday night or Saturday morning and the entire state is in the storm’s possible path. State and local officials in coastal areas were shoring up levees, sandbagging and taking other protections measures, he said.

Louisiana is still recovering from Hurricane Laura, which ravaged the southwestern region as it roared ashore as a Category 4 storm in August. More than 6,600 Laura evacuees remain in hotels around the state, mainly in New Orleans, because their homes are too heavily damaged to return.

In a residential neighborhood on the south side of Cancun, downed trees littered streets. Neighbors with machetes worked alongside firefighters and soldiers to clear the fallen timber. The neighborhood, like much of the city, lost electricity and phone service early Wednesday. Once the strongest winds had subsided, residents emerged from their homes to assess the damage and take photos, momentarily forgetting the pandemic, masks and social distancing.

Pilar Sánchez said the fierce wind blowing through the bars on her windows woke her around 4 a.m. “Minutes later the power went and you could hear strong wind shaking the trees,” she said. She was still a bit shaken, but said she had lived through hurricanes there before.

Associated Press writers Gabriel Alcocer in Cancun and Melinda Deslatte in Baton Rouge, La., contributed to this report.

2 scientists win Nobel chemistry prize for 'gene scissors'

October 07, 2020

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for developing a method of genome editing likened to “molecular scissors” that offer the promise of one day curing inherited diseases and even cancer.

Working on opposite sides of the Atlantic, Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer A. Doudna developed a method known as CRISPR/Cas9 that can be used to change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision.

“There is enormous power in this genetic tool, which affects us all,” said Claes Gustafsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. "It has not only revolutionized basic science, but also resulted in innovative crops and will lead to groundbreaking new medical treatments.”

Gustafsson said that, as a result, any genome can now be edited "to fix genetic damage,” adding that the tool “will provide humankind with great opportunities.” But he cautioned that the "enormous power of this technology means we have to use it with great care."

It has already raised serious ethical questions in the scientific community. Most of the world became more aware of CRISPR in 2018, when Chinese scientist Dr. He Jiankui revealed he had helped make the world’s first gene-edited babies, to try to engineer resistance to future infection with the AIDS virus. His work was denounced worldwide as unsafe human experimentation because of the risk of causing unintended changes that can pass to future generations, and he’s currently in prison.

In September, an international panel of experts issued a report saying it’s still too soon to try to make genetically edited babies because the science isn’t advanced enough to ensure safety, but they mapped a pathway for any countries that want to consider it.

“I was very emotional, I have to say,” Charpentier, 51, told reporters by phone from Berlin after hearing of the award, announced Wednesday in Stockholm by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Asked about the fact that it was the first time that two women have won the chemistry Nobel together, Charpentier said that while she considers herself first and foremost a scientist, she hoped it would encourage others.

“I wish that this will provide a positive message to young girls who would like to follow the path of science," she said. Doudna told The Associated Press about her surprise at receiving the early morning call.

“I literally just found out, I’m in shock," she said. "I was sound asleep.” “My greatest hope is that it’s used for good, to uncover new mysteries in biology and to benefit humankind,” Doudna said. The Broad Institute at Harvard and MIT have been in a long court fight over patents on CRISPR technology, and many other scientists did important work on it, but Doudna and Charpentier have been most consistently honored with prizes for turning it into an easily usable tool.

The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and prize money of 10 million kronor (more than $1.1 million), courtesy of a bequest left more than a century ago by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The amount was increased recently to adjust for inflation.

On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the prize for physiology and medicine to Americans Harvey J. Alter and Charles M. Rice and British-born scientist Michael Houghton for discovering the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus. Tuesday's prize for physics went to Roger Penrose of Britain, Reinhard Genzel of Germany, and Andrea Ghez of the United States for their breakthroughs in understanding the mysteries of cosmic black holes.

The other prizes are for outstanding work in the fields of literature, peace and economics.

Larson reported from Washington, and Jordans from Berlin. AP Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione contributed from Milwaukee.

France, Italy search for missing victims after deadly floods

October 04, 2020

PARIS (AP) — French authorities deployed about 1,000 firefighters, four military helicopters and troops to search for at least eight people who were missing after devastating floods hit a mountainous border region with Italy, where at least four people were killed.

Emergency workers in Italy recovered two corpses Sunday in northern Liguria that they feared may have been washed away as a result of the storms that killed two other people on Saturday. Floods washed away houses and destroyed roads and bridges surrounding the city of Nice on the French Riviera after almost a year's average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi said over 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

Rescuers on Sunday were also providing emergency assistance, including food and water, to residents living in isolated villages. The missing include two French firefighters whose vehicle was carried away by a torrent when a road collapsed south of the village of Saint-Martin-Vesubie. Authorities fear more victims as many families couldn’t reach out to relatives due to cellphone service being down.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex, who flew over the area in a helicopter, expressed “grave concern” over the toll of the flooding. About 10,500 homes were left without electricity on Sunday, French energy company Enedis said.

In Italy, the body of one person reported missing on Saturday — a French citizen of Italian origin — was found in the Roia River, the ANSA and LaPresse news agencies reported. The second one washed up closer to where the Roia empties into the Mediterranean along Italy’s border with France.

An Italian firefighter was killed on Saturday during a rescue operation in the mountainous northern region of Val d’Aosta. A search team also found a body in the Piedmont region’s Vercelli province, where a man had been swept away by floodwaters.

Italian firefighters also rescued 25 people trapped on the French side of a high mountain pass due to the flooding.

Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to the story.

New Caledonia voters choose to stay part of France

October 05, 2020

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — A majority of voters in New Caledonia chose to remain part of France instead of backing independence in a referendum Sunday that led the French president to call for dialogue after a three-decade decolonization effort in the South Pacific archipelago.

In a televised address from Paris, President Emmanuel Macron welcomed “an expression of confidence in the Republic with a deep feeling of gratitude... and modesty.” Macron promised pro-independence supporters “this is with you, all together, that we will build New Caledonia tomorrow" and called on New Caledonians to look to the future.

“We are facing our history in New Caledonia, an colonial history,” Macron said. “And we are trying to overcome it so that we are not trapped in it. We know that today we are at a crossroads." The overseas ministry said 53.3% of voters chose to maintain ties with France while 46.7% supported independence. Turnout was high, with more than 85% of voters casting ballots one hour before poll stations closed, and some stations in Noumea, the capital, closed an hour late to ensure people waiting in long lines at the planned closing time could still vote.

Sunday’s independence referendum was among the final steps of longstanding plans to settle tensions on the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to remain in France.

A peace deal between rival factions was achieved in 1988. A decade later, the Noumea Agreement granted New Caledonia political power and broad autonomy and planned the organization of up to three successive referendums.

Two years ago, 56.4% of people in a similar referendum voted against independence. A third referendum may be organized by 2022. New Caledonian politicians acknowledged Sunday the need for dialogue between pro- and anti-independence sides.

The president of the archipelago's government, Thierry Santa, is among those who want New Caledonia to remain a French territory. He stressed the “deep division” in the population. “That’s up to us political leaders to have the intelligence to sit around a table and discuss what we want for the future," Santa said.

Sonia Backes, president of the South province, also in favor of keeping ties with France, said “the ‘no’ won one more time, but we need to take into account all voters, including independence supporters.”

The president of the Congress and a leading figure in the pro-independence movement, Roch Wamytan, vowed to “continue to fight for the independence of our country.” The president of the pro-independence Caledonian Union party, Daniel Goa, called all on residents to “not let themselves be overwhelmed by emotions and welcome the result in a pacifist atmosphere.”

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said her government looked forward to “continuing to build a deeper and stronger partnership” with its near-neighbor following the ballot. “Australia values its close relationship with France as a like-minded partner in the Indo-Pacific region,” Payne said in a statement.

“We welcome France’s ongoing commitment to the Pacific and its significant contribution to regional security and prosperity,” she added. The archipelago has a population of 270,000, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination, and descendants of European colonizers.

New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.

New Caledonia votes on becoming independent from France

October 04, 2020

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — Voters in New Caledonia turned out in large numbers Sunday to decide whether the archipelago in the South Pacific should get independence from France and break ties that were first established in the mid-19th century.

Sunday's independence referendum is part of a three-decade decolonization effort aimed at settling tensions on the archipelago between native Kanaks seeking independence and residents willing to remain in France.

More than 180,000 voters were invited to answer the question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?” “Today is not a day like any other. Everyone woke up with the will to express oneself (through the vote). This is a historic day,” Robert Wayaridri, 60, told The Associated Press.

In Noumea, the capital, large lines of people waited to vote under the hot sun, sometimes for hours. Almost 80% of voters had already casted their ballots one hour before poll stations closed, according to the French ministry of the Overseas.

Across the archipelago, horns and cheers could be heard all day in the streets, and some people waved pro-independence flags in a relaxed atmosphere. The FLNKS movement leading the independence campaign called on its supporters to stay “calm and respectful.”

Polling stations closed at 6 p.m. (9 a.m. in mainland France). Results are expected later Sunday. If voters choose independence, a transition period will immediately begin so that the archipelago can get ready for its future status. Otherwise, New Caledonia will remain a French territory.

Corine Florentin, who was born in Noumea 52 years ago, said she voted against independence because she wants to “remain French.” "We can live together, all races together, and design our common future,” she said.

A student at the University of New Caledonia, Guillaume Paul, 18, also voted “no” because he wants the archipelago to keep its ties with France. “What would the country become if it was independent? There is a real danger that without the financing brought by France, the university would disappear, ” he said.

But Joachim Neimbo, 22, was in favor of independence. “I voted yes, because that’s my people’s combat. We want the recognition of our identity, our culture. I think we are able to manage ourselves,” he said.

Taguy Wayenece, 25, also voted “yes” to independence. “We need to return to tradition, to working in the fields, to stay with the tribe. Modern life is too complicated for us," he said. Two years ago, 56.4% of voters who participated in a similar referendum chose to keep the region's ties with Paris.

Both referendums are the final steps of a process that started 30 years ago after years of violence that pitched pro-independence Kanak activists against those willing to remain in France. The archipelago now counts 270,000 inhabitants, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination, and descendants of European colonizers.

New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957.

New Caledonia archipelago votes on independence from France

October 04, 2020

NOUMEA, New Caledonia (AP) — Voters in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, were deciding Sunday whether they want independence from France in a referendum that marks a milestone in a three-decade decolonization effort.

More than 180,000 voters were invited to answer the question: “Do you want New Caledonia to gain full sovereignty and become independent?” Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (11 p.m. Saturday in mainland France; 2100 GMT) and will close 10 hours later. Results were expected later Sunday.

If voters choose independence, a transition period will immediately open so that the archipelago can get ready for its future status. Otherwise, New Caledonia will remain a French territory. Two years ago, 56.4% of voters who participated in a similar referendum chose to keep ties with Paris instead of backing independence.

Both referendums are the final steps of a process that started 30 years ago after years of violence that pitched pro-independence Kanak activists against those willing to remain in France. The archipelago now counts 270,000 inhabitants, including both native Kanaks, who once suffered from strict segregation policies, and descendants of European colonizers.

New Caledonia became French in 1853 under Emperor Napoleon III — Napoleon’s nephew and heir — and was used for decades as a prison colony. It became an overseas territory after World War II, with French citizenship granted to all Kanaks in 1957. Under French colonial rule, the Kanaks faced strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.

Two killed, 24 missing in severe floods in Italy and France

October 03, 2020

PARIS (AP) — Flooding from record rains in the mountainous region that spans France and Italy killed two people in Italy and left at least 24 people in the two countries missing Saturday. A storm that moved overnight across southeastern France and then northern Italy caused major flooding on both sides of the border, destroying bridges, blocking roads and isolating communities.

In Italy, a firefighter was killed during a rescue operation in the mountainous northern region of Val d’Aosta. Another body was found in Vercelli province, near where a man had been swept away by flood waters late Friday.

A total of 16 people were reported missing in Italy, all but one travelers in cars on the Col de Tende high mountain pass between France and Italy, according to civil protection authorities. They include two people from Germany driving with their 11-year-old and 6-year-old grandchildren, and a pair of brothers returning from France.

The spokesman for Italy’s firefighters said a search was ongoing for a missing shepherd who was pulled into flood waters on Col de Tende. His brother managed to grab onto a tree and was saved, while authorities were searching on the French side for the shepherd.

Firefighter spokesman Luca Cari said he suspects the other people reported missing in Italy have lost phone contact, but at the moment they are not thought to be in imminent danger. The situation at the tunnel on the high mountain pass is complicated by the fact that French emergency responders cannot access their side due to flood damage, Cari said. Italian firefighters were searching the French side for people who may have been blocked.

Unrelenting rainfall overnight hit levels not seen since 1958 in northern Italy's Piedmont region, where as much as 630 millimeters (24.8 inches) of rain fell in a 24 hour period, according to the Italian civil protection agency.

Hundreds of rescue operations were underway. Eleven campers were saved in Vercelli province, where floodwaters hit 20-year highs. And Alpine rescue squads have evacuated by foot seven people who were in houses cut off by flooding at Terme di Valdieri; some had to be carried on stretchers due to the muddy conditions and accumulation of detritus.

On the other side of the border, in southeastern France, almost a year's average rainfall fell in less than 12 hours in the mountainous area surrounding the city of Nice. Local firefighters said at least eight people were missing, including two firefighters whose vehicle was carried away by water when the road collapsed during a rescue operation.

Nice mayor Christian Estrosi expressed his “emotion and sympathy” for the families. He said over 100 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged. Firefighters said several dozen people were evacuated from their homes overnight.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday expressed gratitude toward rescuers on Twitter. “Together we will get through this,” he said. France’s national weather agency, Meteo France, said that up to 500 millimeters of rain (19.7 inches) were recorded in some areas, the equivalent of almost one year of average rainfall.

Meteo France had issued a danger alert on Friday and all schools in the region had been closed. Local authorities urged people to stay at home. French Prime Minister Jean Castex and Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin arrived in the area later on Saturday.

Barry reported from Milan, Italy. 

Azerbaijan president criticizes mediators; fighting rages on

October 03, 2020

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Heavy fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan continued Saturday in their conflict over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, while Azerbaijan’s president criticized the international mediators who have tried for decades to resolve the dispute.

Fighting that started Sept. 27 is the worst to afflict Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas since the 1994 end of a war that left the region in Azerbaijan under the control of ethnic Armenian local forces backed by Armenia.

Shushan Stepanian, a spokeswoman for the Armenian Defense Ministry, told The Associated Press that “intensive fighting is taking place along the entire front line,” and claimed that Armenian forces had shot down three planes.

Azerbaijan’s defense ministry did not respond to the claim of planes being shot down, but said Armenian forces had shelled civilian territory within Azerbaijan, including the city of Terter. Nagorno-Karabakh officials have said more than 150 servicemen on their side have been killed so far. Azerbaijani authorities haven’t given details on their military casualties but said 19 civilians have been killed and 55 more wounded.

Nagorno-Karabakh was a designated autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet era. It claimed independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, about three months before the Soviet Union's collapse. Full-scale war that broke out in 1992 killed an estimated 30,000 people. By the time it ended in 1994, Armenian forces not only held Nagorno-Karabakh itself but substantial areas outside the territory's formal borders.

Several United Nations Security Council resolutions have called for withdrawal from those areas, which the Armenian forces have disregarded. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in a television interview that the forces must withdraw from those areas before fighting can stop.

In the interview with al-Jazeera, a transcript of which was distributed Saturday by the presidential press office, Aliyev criticized the so-called Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has tried to mediate a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

One of the reasons behind the current fighting is that “the mediators do not insist or exert pressure to start implementing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” he said. “We have no time to wait another 30 years. The conflict must be resolved now.” Aliyev said.

Associated Press writers Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

EU sanctions Belarus over election, gets in-kind response

October 02, 2020

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union imposed sanctions Friday on 40 officials suspected of election misconduct and a brutal security crackdown on protesters in Belarus, which quickly retaliated by announcing its own sanctions against the EU and recalling its ambassadors from Poland and Lithuania.

Russia, in turn, said it would follow Belarus' lead on sanctioning officials in the 27-nation European bloc, while the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it had followed the EU and imposed sanctions on eight Belarus officials.

The individuals subject to the sanctions that EU leaders endorsed overnight do not include Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, whose disputed reelection to a sixth term has triggered nearly eight weeks of protests and a government crackdown on peaceful protesters, opposition activists and journalists.

The EU leaders suggested that Lukashenko, once dubbed Europe’s last dictator, could be subject to sanctions later, if he does not enter into talks with his country's political opposition. Those targeted in the meantime include Interior Ministry, police and security officials, as well as members of the Belarus Central Electoral Commission.

“This sends a strong message of EU support to the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their president through free and fair elections, and our condemnation of repression and violence against people exercising their fundamental rights,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

The leaders also urged the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, “to prepare a comprehensive plan of economic support for democratic Belarus.” The Foreign Ministry of Belarus gave no details about its retaliatory sanctions list, but warned of “more serious consequences” such as pulling out of joint projects or revising the country's diplomatic relations with the EU if the bloc ratchets up “the sanctions flywheel.”

“Belarus is always, in words and in deeds, against confrontation. We are for dialogue and understanding. But as a sovereign state, we’re also determined, albeit not without regret, to respond to unfriendly actions in order to naturally defend our national interests,” the ministry said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized the EU’s move and said Moscow would adopt the Belarusian sanctions list since the move would be in line with Russia's obligations under its union agreement with Belarus, a former Soviet republic.

In Washington, the Treasury Department said the individuals subject to new U.S. sanctions include Belarus' interior minister, his deputy, and two top members of the country’s election commission who “are responsible for, or have participated in, undermining democratic processes in Belarus.”

Several law enforcement officials were also targeted by the sanctions, which include a freeze on any assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions and a ban on Americans conducting business with them. “The Belarusian people’s democratic aspirations to choose their own leaders and peacefully exercise their rights have been met with violence and oppression from Belarusian officials,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. “The United States and our international partners stand united in imposing costs on those who have undermined Belarusian democracy for years.”

EU agreement on the sanctions was held up for weeks by one of the smallest member countries, a standoff that embarrassed the world’s biggest trading bloc. Cyprus used its veto to block the action, which required a unanimous vote of the 27 EU members.

Cyprus wanted its EU partners to also impose sanctions against Turkey for its energy exploration work in waters where the Mediterranean island nation claims exclusive rights before it would agree to the Belarus sanctions. The deadlock was broken just after midnight when the leaders issued a statement in Cyprus' support and criticized Turkey.

All EU member countries, including Cyprus, reject the official results of the Aug. 9 presidential election in Belarus, which gave Lukashenko 80% of the vote to extend his 26-year tenure. Like Belarusian opposition leaders, they all want a new presidential election held.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said Friday he was pleased with the EU summit’s conclusions because his goal of rallying fellow European leaders behind a demand to hold Turkey accountable for “unlawful actions” in Cypriot and Greek waters had been met.

Cyprus said it agreed with other European Union members to forego more sanctions on Turkey in order to give diplomacy “another chance” at getting Ankara to halt its hydrocarbons prospecting in its waters and to ease tensions.

Sanctions against Turkey “were never an end in themselves,” Anastasiades told reporters in Brussels. At the same time, he said EU leaders have left the door open to impose them at their next scheduled summit in December, if Ankara doesn’t cease and desist by then.

“I repeat that the responsibility and the burden for what comes next are on Turkey,” he said. Anastasiades’ remarks appeared designed to save face after his government strongly suggested in the run-up to the summit that it would accept nothing less than fresh sanctions against Turkey. Cypriot officials had said sanctions would drive the point home that EU pronouncements of solidarity with member states must be backed up with actions.

Two Turkish vessels escorted by warships continue a search for gas inside Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone. A similar move by Turkey in August in an area that Greece claims falls within its continental shelf sharply raised military tensions between the two NATO allies. Those tensions subsided after Turkey pulled the research vessel back, opening a window for negotiations on delimiting the two countries’ maritime borders.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu dismissed the summit’s conclusions as aiming only to satisfy members Cyprus and Greece while making “veiled threats to impose sanctions.” He also criticized the EU for calling Turkey’s operations in the eastern Mediterranean “illegal.”

The EU extended a carrot as well as a stick to Turkey, agreeing that if Ankara reacts positively in talks with Cyprus and Greece, the bloc would “launch a positive political EU-Turkey agenda” with trade and customs incentives.

If not, the leaders warned, “the EU will use all the instruments and the options at its disposal,” to “defend its interests and those of its member states.” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakisakis echoed his Cypriot counterpart, saying that EU leaders “had made it clear, with absolute certainty" that EU-Turkish relations would remain in a deep freeze if Turkey continued its “aggressive behavior.”

The Greek prime minister repeated that if talks with Turkey on a maritime border deal fall through, Athens would be prepared to take the matter to the international court at the Hague.

Yuras Karmanau in Kyiv, Jim Heintz in Moscow and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this story.

EU slaps sanctions on 40 Belarus officials, not Lukashenko

October 02, 2020

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Friday officially slapped sanctions on 40 officials in Belarus that the bloc says are responsible for cracking down on peaceful demonstrators, opposition politicians and reporters, as well as for “misconduct” during the country's August presidential election.

The individuals subject to the sanctions that EU leaders endorsed overnight do not include Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, once dubbed Europe’s last dictator, but the leaders suggested this might happen later if he does not enter into talks with his country's political opposition.

Those targeted include Interior Ministry, police and security officials, as well as members of the Belarus Central Electoral Commission. “This sends a strong message of EU support to the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their president through free and fair elections, and our condemnation of repression and violence against people exercising their fundamental rights,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

Borrell said the European Union hopes its action “will encourage the Belarusian leadership to refrain from further violence, to free all the unlawfully detained people, including the political prisoners, launch a thorough investigation into all alleged violations and abuses, and engage in a genuine and inclusive dialogue with the opposition in view of finding a peaceful way out of the current crisis.”

Agreement on the sanctions was held up for weeks by one of the EU’s smallest countries, a standoff that embarrassed the world’s biggest trading bloc. Cyprus used its veto to block the move, which required a unanimous vote of the 27 EU members.

Cyprus wanted its EU partners to take action against Turkey for its energy exploration work in disputed waters off the Mediterranean island nation’s coast before it would agree to the Belarus sanctions. The deadlock was broken just after midnight when the leaders issued a statement in Cyprus' support and criticized Turkey.

All EU member countries, including Cyprus, reject the result of the Aug. 9 election that returned Lukashenko to power for a sixth term. They all want a new presidential election held in Belarus and agree that sanctions should be slapped on dozens of officials, perhaps even Lukashenko himself at some later point.

“The list of persons targeted will be under constant review, and the EU is ready to impose additional restrictive measures, if the situation does not improve,” Borrell said. The leaders also urged the EU's executive arm, the European Commission, “to prepare a comprehensive plan of economic support for democratic Belarus.”

King, Crown Prince extend condolences to Kuwait emir over passing of Sheikh Sabah

[10/1/2020]

AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II extended condolences on Thursday to Kuwait Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, over the passing of Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

During a visit to Kuwait, King Abdullah expressed deep sympathies, on behalf of Jordan’s people and government, to Sheikh Nawaf and the people of Kuwait.

His Majesty said the Arab and Muslim nations lost a wise leader who was dedicated to serving his people and defending Arab and Islamic causes.

The King paid tribute to Sheikh Sabah’s noble positions in support of Jordan, stressing the deep-rooted ties between the Kingdom and Kuwait.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, Senate President Faisal Fayez, Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Adviser to His Majesty for Policies Bisher Khasawneh, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Hneiti also extended condolences.

Source: Ammon News.

Link: http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleno=44121.

Crown prince becomes oil-rich Kuwait's new ruling emir

September 30, 2020

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah became the oil-rich nation's new ruling emir Tuesday night, reaching the highest post in the country after decades in its security services.

Sheikh Nawaf, 83, had served as the crown prince since 2006, jumping a traditional order of alternating rule between the Al Jaber and the Al Salim branches of the country's ruling family. While his taking of the throne came as prescribed by Kuwait's constitution, there likely will be negotiations behind the scenes in the weeks ahead over who will become the country's next crown prince.

Those discussions likely will take time as Kuwait mourns its late ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who died Tuesday at the age of 91, and weighs who best represents a country that had carefully positioned itself amid regional rivalries.

Sheikh Nawaf “may provide a welcome respite of unity in transition," wrote Kristin Smith Diwan, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. ”Yet, 83 years old and without any clear national program, his reign is unlikely to deter the sharp competition already underway to claim the title of his successor."

State television carried an address by Anas Khalid al-Saleh, Kuwait's interior minister and deputy prime minister, announcing Sheikh Nawaf had taken the position just hours after Sheikh Sabah's death.

Sheikh Nawaf, like his half-brother Sheikh Sabah, was born before Kuwait discovered the oil that would make this small nation among the richest in the world. Born June 25, 1937, Sheikh Nawaf became a governor of Kuwait's Hawalli region and later the country's interior minister, a position he held for nearly a decade.

As interior minister, Sheikh Nawaf negotiated in 1980 with two Jordanians who hijacked a Boeing 727 heading from Beirut to Kuwait City. The hijackers ultimately gave up the plane without harming any passengers on board. Sheikh Nawaf negotiated in other hijackings as well.

Kuwait separately faced militant bombings during his time as interior minister, which authorities blamed on Iran. Sheikh Nawaf served as Kuwait's defense minister beginning in 1988. He'd be in the role in 1990, when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and occupied the nation for seven months.

“Our citizens inside Kuwait are disobeying orders and not following instructions and they are being mistreated," Sheikh Nawaf said at the time. On Feb. 24, 1991, U.S. troops and their allies stormed into Kuwait. It ended 100 hours later. America suffered only 148 combat deaths during the whole campaign, while over 20,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed.

Sheikh Nawaf briefly served as social affairs and labor minister after the war, then as the deputy chief of Kuwait's National Guard and again as interior minister. He became the crown prince under Sheikh Sabah in February 2006.

Sheikh Nawaf is married, with four sons and one daughter. He hasn't been known for making any major political decisions while serving as crown prince. Sheikh Nawaf is “is seen by many in Kuwait as an uncontroversial choice as emir, albeit probably serving only a short term considering his age,” analysts Simon Henderson and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen wrote in an analysis last October for the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy. “His uncertain health may also affect both the length and the vigor of his time as emir."

The analysts added: "These facts, together with his easy-going personality, make it more likely that whoever becomes his crown prince will have the opportunity to more forcefully shape the direction of Kuwaiti leadership.”

Merkel applauds 'impressive' women protesters in Belarus

September 30, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised women in Belarus for staging peaceful protests in the wake of the country's disputed presidential election and said Wednesday that she plans to meet soon with the main opposition candidate.

Merkel's comments came a day after French President Emmanuel Macron met with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Lithuania. Tsikhanouskaya went into exile there after the Aug. 9 election that Belarus officials claimed President Alexander Lukashenko won with 80% of the vote to her 10%.

Opposition activists and some poll workers say the results that gave Lukashenko a sixth term were fraudulent. Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on the president, his son and six government officials over a crackdown during weeks of post-election protests in Belarus.

The European Union is considering whether to impose sanctions as well. Germany currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. “We don’t recognize the election of President Lukashenko," Merkel told German lawmakers, reiterating her condemnation of the violent crackdown on political opponents in Belarus.

“I will meet soon with the opposition activist Ms. Tsikhanouskaya," she said, adding: "When you see the bravery of women that’s on display in the streets there, for freedom and a life without corruption, then I can only say: I admire that and I find it really impressive.”

Merkel, who has been Germany's chancellor for 15 years, joined the newly emboldened opposition movement in East Germany shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, declined to say whether a date and place for the meeting with Tsikhanouskaya had been set.

Asked about Britain and Canada's decision to impose sanctions on Lukashenko, Seibert said Germany is “firmly resolved” that the European Union should also agree on sanctions against Belarus. “We regret that this hasn't been possible yet,” he told reporters in Berlin. “But it remains our goal that such restrictive measures are taken.”

“To do this we are continue to have intensive exchanges with our European partners,” Seibert said. “The goal is therefore comparable to that of Britain, for example.”