After delays, construction begins on destroyed homes in Gaza

July 23, 2015

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Undeterred by scorching heat, Palestinian workers in Gaza on Thursday hammered nails into wooden boards and jolted steel bars as they lay the foundations for the first group of homes to be rebuilt since the war with Israel last summer. The work brought a rare glimmer of hope to a territory that remains devastated a year after the fighting.

The long-awaited reconstruction started in Shijaiyah, one of Gaza's areas that was hardest hit during the 50-day war between Israel and the Islamic militant Hamas group. "Thank God!" said Sharif Harara, 50, who stood under the sun as the workers laid the foundation of his new residence. "After a year of suffering in rental homes, our God brought his mercy."

Last year's fighting was the third and most devastating war between the bitter enemies since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 from the rival Palestinian Authority, dominated by President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party. Over 2,200 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, and 73 people on the Israeli side were killed in the fighting.

The war also destroyed 11,900 homes and damaged about 140,000 dwellings, according to the Palestinian Minister of Public Works Mufeed al-Hasayneh, whose ministry oversees the rebuilding. One year later, thousands of houses with minor or moderate damage have been repaired under strict guidelines agreed to by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations. But so far, no new homes have been built to replace those that were completely destroyed.

Reconstruction efforts have also been hampered by unmet international funding promises, the rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, which remains the internationally recognized government for the Palestinians, and continued Israeli security restrictions — though Israel has recently taken steps to increase the flow of goods into Gaza.

Shijaiyah is one of Gaza City's most densely populated and impoverished neighborhoods. Entire city blocks were laid to waste there in fierce fighting between hundreds of Hamas gunmen and Israeli troops.

The first houses are being rebuilt as part of a Qatari-funded project that will see 1,000 housing units reconstructed. For residents in Shijaiyah, where entire blocks remain flattened, it was a rare sign of progress and hope.

Harara used to have a two-floor home for his 10-member family. His new house will only have one floor. But he doesn't mind, he said. "I quickly signed on it to get rid of the suffering," he said. Harara's old home was one of over 60 housing units in a bloc of buildings shared by his extended family that was destroyed by artillery shells and airstrikes last summer.

Only four housing units are being rebuilt in the Qatari project. The four homes were the first to receive Israeli approval for the necessary building materials, according to Al-Hasayneh. But he said Israel has approved requests to build more than 630 additional homes funded by Qatar. In addition, plans are in the works for another 1,000 homes funded by Kuwait, he said.

"I think within two weeks, there will be a revolution in construction," said al-Hasayneh, the Palestinian minister. Harara's brother, Ziad, a teacher who also lost his house, said he was excited to see Sharif's new home begin to take shape. "This gave me a huge hope," he said, standing outside a tent he erected on the empty lot where his house once stood.

But others were less positive. Among them was Hussam Harara, 37, a cousin of Sharif and Ziad. His home is nearby, in an apartment building that was moderately damaged. "Those with total destruction started rebuilding while nobody gave us any money to repair," he said.

He frowned as he pointed out a freshly painted white mosque that was quickly repaired by Hamas. "This is a Hamas mosque," he said. "They repaired the mosque and the house that has children was not repaired."

Moroccan journalists back hunger-striking colleague

July 24, 2015

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Some 100 Moroccan journalists and activists demonstrated Friday in front of the parliament in solidarity with an editor on a monthlong hunger strike over his treatment by the government.

Ali Mrabet, editor of DemainOnline, has been on a hunger strike in front of Geneva's Palais des Nations since June 24 over what he is calling government harassment preventing him from working. Omar Brouksy, a journalist at the demonstration, said Mrabet was being targeted for his outspoken criticism of the state but also it was an attack on journalists in general despite a reformist constitution and public commitment to press freedoms.

"The problem with Morocco is the flagrant incoherence between the laws and the official discourse, on one hand, and the reality, which is very repressive," he said. Morocco, a popular tourist destination, is generally considered more stable and open than its North African neighbors, but it still ranks low on press freedom indexes.

Mrabet was banned by a judge from practicing journalism for a decade. During that time he published the French-language DemainOnline, which was critical of the state and often poked fun at it. When the ban expired in April, he announced plans to bring back the print version of his weekly. Since then he said he has been repeatedly harassed and authorities refuse to issue him a certificate of residence so he cannot renew his identity card, passport or set up his newspaper.

Most of Morocco's print and broadcast media now strictly follow official red lines — avoiding criticism of the king, the country's policies in the Western Sahara or Islam. Many independent-minded journalists have gone online instead, but in 2014, news website Lakome.com was shut down after its editor was briefly charged with abetting terrorism by writing about an al-Qaida video.

Spain: Podemos party picks Iglesias as its top candidate

July 24, 2015

MADRID (AP) — Members of Spain's far left We Can (Podemos) political party have made it official: Pony-tailed leader Pablo Iglesias will be the top candidate in general elections expected at the end of the year.

The party announced Friday that nearly 94 percent of nearly 60,000 voting party members picked Iglesias, a college professor and party co-founder. The party was established last year and more than 380,000 members were eligible for the voting period that ended Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy must call elections by the end of 2015 but has not yet announced a date. He is expected to run again as the leader of his conservative Popular Party. Pedro Sanchez is leading the candidate list for the main opposition Socialist Party. The new centrist Citizens (Ciudadanos) Party is led by Albert Rivera.

Spain for decades was dominated by the Popular and Socialist parties but the entry of We Can and Citizens amid outrage over painful austerity measures and incessant corruption cases has upended the country's traditional two party political dominance.

We Can and Citizens both made big inroads during nationwide regional and local elections in May. Madrid and Barcelona both ended up with leftist mayors who ousted traditional power barons.

New Barcelona mayor criticized for removing old king's bust

July 24, 2015

MADRID (AP) — Barcelona's new leftist mayor was sharply criticized Friday for removing a bronze bust of former King Juan Carlos from the town hall's main chamber.

The highly political gesture reflects increasing differences between Spain's national government in Madrid and the powerful region of Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona and whose government seeks independence.

Mayor Ada Colau removed the bust Thursday, saying the law stipulates there should be an image of the head of state in the chamber and Juan Carlos no longer holds that position. Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria countered Friday that if Barcelona needed an image of new King Felipe VI — Juan Carlos' son— the government will gladly provide one.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo described the removal as "mean-spirited" while the opposition Socialist party spokesman Antonio Hernando said it showed a lack of respect and bad manners. Opposition town hall members urged Colau to respect the law, while one supporter thanked her for cleaning the chamber.

Members of Spain's ruling conservative Popular Party held a photograph of Felipe where the bust had been in a brief protest Friday in the town hall. Colau, who has previously expressed support for independence from Spain, said she'll seek town-hall consensus on a solution. Formerly the head of Spain's active anti-eviction movement, she took office last month promising many changes.

The incident comes as relations between the central government and Catalonia grow increasingly testy because of plans by the region's two main parties to turn the Sept. 27 local election into a vote on independence. They promise to unilaterally declare independence if they obtain a majority.

Spain has ruled out any possibility of secession for the region, which accounts for about one-fifth of the county's gross domestic product.

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola backs Catalan independence push

July 22, 2015

MADRID (AP) — Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has thrown his support behind a push for Catalonia's independence from Spain by taking a symbolic place on a list of pro-secession candidates.

Guardiola, 44, told reporters on Wednesday in China, where his team is on a pre-season tour, that he had been asked to do so by the region's two main parties as they prepare for Sept. 27 regional elections.

Guardiola, a native of Catalonia, was a star player and coach of Barcelona, a team symbolic of Catalan nationalism. Ironically, he was also a key player for the Spain's international side for many years.

Catalonia's Convergence and the Republican Left parties want the elections to be a vote on independence and say they will unilaterally leave Spain if they obtain a majority. Spain has ruled out any possibility of secession.

The region, whose capital is Barcelona, accounts for about one-fifth of Spain's gross domestic product. Guardiola's move is symbolic as he is not expected to take a seat regardless of the election result.

News of his decision was welcomed by the pro-independence camp, but criticized by others. Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz said it was regrettable to mix sports with politics, and accused Guardiola of having played for Spain for the money.

Protesters vandalize cars of OSCE observers in east Ukraine

July 24, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — Protesters in the rebel-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk have vandalized cars from the Organization for Security and Cooperation and Security in Europe, the group said Friday.

Russian television on Thursday showed several dozen protesters outside the hotel where OSCE observers are staying to monitor a truce between the Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian government. Some of the protesters, mostly young men wearing sunglasses, spray-painted the cars of the OSCE and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Alexander Hug, deputy head of the OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine, said 30 cars owned by the OSCE and other international organizations have been damaged and are temporarily out of service. Hug told reporters Friday in Donetsk that police were sent to the protest where the cars were vandalized "and did nothing to prevent this."

"This act of violence is unacceptable," said Hug, who has called for authorities to investigate. Hug also said OSCE monitors continue to see heavy weapons from both sides near the front line, despite an agreement in February that both would pull the weapons back.

Rebels this month claimed they were beginning to pull back tanks and armored vehicles with smaller weapons as well; Hug said that while his observers have seen such vehicles moving, they cannot verify that an actual withdrawal is underway.

The fighting between separatists and Ukrainian forces has killed over 6,400 people since it began in April 2014.

Ukraine's new police on charm offensive in Kiev

July 24, 2015

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Only a few months ago, Kiev residents would normally avoid the police if they could help it. The officer would be of no use on a complaint — or worse, would demand a bribe.

Not any longer. These days, Kiev residents approach members of a new police force that has hit the streets — and even ask to take a picture with them. It's being welcomed as the Ukrainian government's first visible reform since it came to power in February 2014.

In the first phase of a comprehensive overhaul, the entire traffic police corps of Kiev was disbanded and replaced on July 4 by a retrained force — with new powers to make arrests as well as issue speeding or parking tickets. The police reform ultimately aims to retrain, and possibly replace, the entire Ukrainian Interior Ministry, including elite inspectors on serious crimes such as murder and corporate fraud. The initiative is supported by the United States and managed by Eka Zguladze, who was in charge of a largely successful police reform in her native Georgia.

One of the pledges of the new Kiev government, which took over last year after pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country, was to combat rampant corruption in Ukraine's police. Just as in neighboring Russia, Ukraine's police corps was perceived as chronically extorting bribes and harassing citizens.

The new government decided to start from scratch. The first phase replaced the old traffic police with a new 2,000-strong patrol team trained by Ukrainians who had themselves received instruction from American officers. While the traffic police were suspended rather than sacked, it is still not clear whether the old cops will be able to come back.

The backbone of the overhaul was a training program this year for 100 Ukrainian police instructors, run by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. They went on to teach the new police course in Kiev for the inaugural class of new officers who hit the streets this month.

William Brownfield, the U.S. assistant secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, has been advising the Ukrainian government on the police shake-up. He had a scathing assessment of the original state of affairs.

"The conclusion appears to be unanimous that — whatever you may think of the politics, external actors or the economy — the police was not working well," said Brownfield, who has been advising nations on police reform for two decades.

The reform, to which the United States has contributed $15 million, is expected to take from five to 10 years to complete. The creation of the new patrol force in Kiev is still described as an experiment. Other branches of the police in Kiev have not been disbanded. Several other big Ukrainian cities like Mykolaiv and Odessa will get new patrol police in the coming months.

Along with the American training, the new officers got American-styled uniforms and are all young and fit, in sharp contrast to their balding pot-bellied predecessors. Good looks sometimes seem like a prerequisite for the job — giving the initiative the air of a publicity stunt, one of the criticisms leveled at the reform.

Kateryna Lyshnevska, a 29-year-old who used to run a small business, signed up for the police course and was accepted in what has been described as 10-to-1 competition for the job. Lyshnevska said she was attracted by the stable pay, as well as the prospect of being able to help bring long-anticipated reforms to life. "I believe in reforms and wanted to help with the reforms to make history in our country," she said.

The new officers' average monthly pay of between 7,000 to 10,000 hryvnias ($320-to-$450) may seem modest but it is still higher than the average Kiev salary of 6,000 hryvnia. Kiev residents routinely stop members of the new police corps and ask for a photo with them. And they seem genuinely surprised at officers lending a hand — without asking for a bribe.

For Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, the first visible outcome of the reform is a four-fold increase in the number of calls that Kiev police have received since the new force was sworn in. "People started to call more often because there is more trust," Avakov wrote recently on Facebook. "And this is a challenge for the new police too: we can't let (people) down."

Avakov admits that a lot of police officers are opposing the reforms but says that the government is determined to press on. "The old system has greeted the creation of the new police with resistance," he said. "(We will) use our will to convince those who want to keep the old ways."

On Friday, the Obama administration said it would expand its training of Ukrainian security forces with small-unit exercises for personnel from Kiev's Defense Ministry. The State Department announced the training would begin this fall in western Ukraine and is similar to training being given the Ukrainian National Guard.

__ Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this report.