Kurdish fighters face resistance from IS in Iraq

December 22, 2014

MOUNT SINJAR, Iraq (AP) — Kurdish fighters in Iraq pushed deeper Monday into the town of Sinjar, held by the Islamic State group, but are facing stiff resistance from the Sunni militants who captured it in August.

One of the fighters, Bakhil Elias, said clashes since late last night have been "fierce" and that IS militants are using snipers. At least two Kurdish peshmerga fighters have been killed by snipers and 25 were wounded in the latest fighting.

Large plumes of black smoke are billowing into the sky from inside the town. The Kurdish forces say the militants are burning tires and oil to create a smoke screen of thick dark clouds to obstruct airstrikes against their positions by the U.S-led coalition.

Last week, the Kurdish peshmerga fighters launched the operation to retake Sinjar and were able to reach thousands of Yazidis who were trapped on Mount Sinjar. Peshmerga fighters opened up a corridor to the mountain and are regularly bringing truckloads of aid and food to the area.

In neighboring Syria, Kurdish fighters pushed into an IS-held neighborhood in the northern town of Kobani, capturing a cultural center that they had besieged on Saturday. "The center is very important morally and militarily," said Kobani-based activist Mustafa Bali, referring to the site, located on a hill that overlooks several neighborhoods east and southeast of the town.

"This will change the military rhythm in the coming days," Bali said, adding that the aim of Kurdish fighters in Syria is to evict IS militants from Kobani and nearby villages. Kurdish fighters have been slowly advancing in Kobani over the past weeks backed by Iraqi peshmerga fighters who came to help, and airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition.

The IS group began its Kobani offensive in mid-September, capturing parts of the town as well as dozens of nearby villages. Hundreds of fighters on both sides have been killed since. Idriss Nassan, a Kobani local official, said that over the past days the Syrian Kurdish force known as the People's Protection Units, or YPG, "has taken the initiative" and advanced in IS-held neighborhoods.

Nassan said peshmerga fighters usually bombard IS positions in the town while YPG fighters carry out the ground attack with the help of airstrikes that target militant positions.

Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

Azerbaijan's station raided by police

December 26, 2014

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — A radio station funded by the U.S. government says its office in Azerbaijan's capital of Baku has been raided by prosecutors who claim to have a court decision to shut it down.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty quoted the director of its Azerbaijani service saying that the office has been locked down since early Friday morning by prosecutors and armed police. Two RFE journalists could not be contacted by The Associated Press.

The Prosecutor General's Office told the AP the search was conducted to investigate a "grave crime" but would not elaborate. The station's top reporter Khadija Ismayilova was jailed earlier this month pending a trial on charges of driving a man to suicide, which critics dismissed as an attempt to gag an influential journalist.

Turkish teen accused of insulting Erdogan freed from custody

December 26, 2014

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A high school student who was jailed for allegedly insulting Turkey's leader was released from custody on Friday after his arrest caused uproar and intensified fears that Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is lurching toward more authoritarian rule.

The 16-year-old boy was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly calling Erdogan a thief, a day after he took part in a small left-wing student rally commemorating the death of a pro-secular army officer slain by Islamists 84 years ago.

His arrest at his Meram Technical and Vocational high school in Konya, central Turkey, sparked an outcry, with opposition parties denouncing it as the latest example of the government's descent toward authoritarianism and its crackdown on free speech and dissent.

It is a crime in Turkey to insult the president and others have been arrested on such charges before, but it was the first time a minor has been detained. Dozens of lawyers volunteered to defend the teen and petitioned for his release. At least three students were briefly detained during a protest on Wednesday to denounce his detention, Cumhuriyet newspaper reported.

It wasn't clear if the boy's early release was connected to the huge publicity of the case. Officials insist Turkey's judiciary is independent of the state and it is not uncommon for Turkish detainees to be released from custody quickly.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for the past decade as prime minister and as president since his election in August, was long regarded as a champion of democratic reforms. More recently, the Turkish leader has been accused of steering Turkey away from democracy by cracking down on protests, suppressing media freedoms and increasing police powers.

Earlier this month, police raided media outlets close to a movement led by a U.S.-based Muslim cleric — who is Erdogan's strongest critic — and detained journalists and TV producers, a move that sparked U.S. and EU criticism.

"It is extremely difficult to speak of democracy, pluralism or say that the regime is a republic in a country where children are arrested for their speech," the Ankara Bar Association said in a statement.

The boy, who can only be identified by his initials M.E.A. because of Turkish laws that protect the identity of minors, made a speech during the rally in which he said the students didn't regard Erdogan as the president, but as the "thieving owner of the illegal palace," according to court papers seen by The Associated Press.

His words referred to a vast government corruption scandal that has implicated members of Erdogan's family, as well as a controversial 1,150-room presidential palace in the capital, Ankara, which Erdogan inaugurated in October. Erdogan has depicted the scandal, which forced four government ministers to step down, as a "coup" orchestrated by the followers of the U.S.-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen.

The boy walked through the gates of a detention center in Konya after a court there agreed to free him from police custody on Friday. The boy could still face up to four years in prison if he is charged and convicted. The Justice Ministry would however, need to give its consent for proceedings on insulting the president to go ahead.

The student denied during questioning that his words were intended as an insult to Erdogan, according to the court papers. Video footage showed the boy being embraced by his mother as he emerged from custody. Dozens of his supporters sang and beat a drum in celebration of his release.

"We are not terrorists," the boy said after his release. "When we took this path, we made a promise not to turn back. We shall not yield to the fascist, unprogressive pressure." Erdogan hasn't specifically commented on the boy's case, but asserted Friday that media in Turkey was "more free" than the rest of the world because of the amount of "insults" that were being leveled at him or his family.

"Insults that would not be allowed in democratic countries are being made, that's how free it is. I am experiencing this personally and with my family," Erdogan said. "The insults are limitless." Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had defended the boy's detention on Thursday, saying: "The presidential office needs to be shown respect, no matter who he is."

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, welcomed his release saying it was "wrong for a child to be kept in custody even for a minute." "A child's place is not prison," the teenager's mother, Nazmiye Gok, told reporters and supporters who gathered outside the detention center. "They need to be in school, sitting at their desks."

"I am not ashamed of my child. I am proud of him," she said.

Berza Simsek in Istanbul contributed.

Ukraine, pro-Russia rebels swap war prisoners

December 26, 2014

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russia rebels exchanged nearly 370 prisoners Friday, a major step toward easing hostilities in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine handed over 222 prisoners and the rebels released 145 people, according to Russia's state RIA Novosti news agency — the biggest one-time prisoners swap since the pro-Russian insurgency flared up in eastern Ukraine in April.

The Interfax news agency quoted Svyatoslav Tsegolko, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, saying that 146 Ukrainian prisoners were released Friday and another four will be freed on Saturday. The figures corresponded to an earlier Ukrainian official statement, which said that 150 Ukrainian prisoners were to be released.

Hundreds of others were released during previous months. Numbers of those to be released varied Friday and tensions were flying high as buses carrying the prisoners arrived at a site north of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

At some point during the exchange, separatist rights ombudsman Darya Morozova was quoted by Tass news agency as saying that the exchange was pushed back until Saturday. Russia's state television showed Ukrainian war prisoners boarding buses in the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk before being driven to a location north of the city where the exchange took place.

On the site where the swap was conducted, prisoners were called up by groups of 10 with officials from both sides verifying their identities. The exchange had been tentatively planned for earlier this week, and the failure to conduct it pushed back another round of Ukraine peace talks in the Belorussian capital, Minsk, which was set for Friday but was adjourned indefinitely.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine between government forces, volunteer battalions and pro-Russia separatists has claimed more than 4,700 lives since last spring. Previous rounds of talks in September produced a cease-fire and an agreement to pull back heavy weapons, but both sides have failed to agree on a line of division and fighting continued.

Hostilities have diminished in the past weeks amid renewed peace efforts, but mutual suspicions and distrust have stymied progress. Ukraine's parliament vote earlier this week to abandon the country's non-aligned status, a first step toward a possible bid for NATO membership which is an anathema to Moscow, also has hampered talks.

Amid the tensions, Ukraine on Friday suspended train and bus services to the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, citing security concerns. Crimea, which depends on Ukraine for supplies of electricity and water, has faced frequent power cutoffs, most recently on Friday.

Russia annexed the Black Sea peninsula in March following the ouster of Ukraine's former Moscow-friendly president after months of protests. Adding to the residents' problems, Visa and MasterCard announced Friday that they halted card services in Crimea in line with the latest U.S. sanctions.

Warsaw's lost architecture portrayed in miniature

December 24, 2014

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Many splendid pieces of Warsaw's architecture are gone or disfigured forever — victims of war and communism. But now some can be appreciated again — in miniature.

The fate of some of Warsaw's architectural gems reflects the tragic story of a city that went through years of war, then decades of communism in which buildings were torn down or neglected. Generations of residents have grown up unaware of the past splendor of the city once called the "Paris of the North."

Rafal Kunach, an economist-turned-builder with a childhood passion for city models, wants to change all that. "I wanted to show the Warsaw that is no more," Kunach said. By 2018, he hopes to have 50 miniature replicas of Warsaw's lost buildings, including railway stations, a synagogue and houses from the once-thriving Jewish district that was demolished by the Nazis. So far his team of historians, architects and builders has created 10 miniature reconstructions of the lost buildings at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Kunach's "Old Warsaw Miniatures" can be viewed in the basement gallery of a downtown mall but Warsaw authorities have promised a larger space for them next year. Historian Jaroslaw Zielinski, a member of Kunach's team, said in September 1939 alone — the first month of World War II — some 20 percent of Warsaw's buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged by German bombs.

"In 1939, it seemed that the world had ended," Zielinski said. "A lot of precious pieces of old architecture burned down. ... The intention was to break the spirit of the city's defenders." After the war, the empty spaces were filled with mostly cheap and simple buildings.

Tourists now often visit the downtown Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — a broken arcade topped with broken columns in a vast square bordering a park. Although pretty, it's only a sad remnant of a massive 18th century Saxon palace built as a royal residence, one of the lost buildings that Kunach has recreated in miniature.

Before World War II, the palace housed the Polish army command and the office of cryptologists working to crack the code of the German Enigma cipher machine, which they did in 1932. The occupying Germans blew up the palace in December 1944. Recent attempts to rebuild it were scrapped after the existing foundations proved too weak and the costs too high.

Kronenberg Palace, the impressive late 19th-century residence of Jewish banker Leopold Kronenberg, stood next to the Saxon palace before the war. Its roof, painted ceilings and exquisite white marble staircase burned down in German bombing raids at the start of the war but its sturdy walls remained. What was left of the building was torn down in 1962, because the communist authorities found no money to restore a symbol of despised capitalist-era wealth. The drab Hotel Victoria was built on the site in 1976.

"It's quite something to be able to see these gone buildings, Kunach said. " And in our times it's there is an additional point in educating people about the costs of a war."

Snow, ice sweep Europe, stranding drivers

December 27, 2014

LONDON (AP) — Snow and icy weather swept through parts of Europe on Saturday, stranding drivers overnight and leaving thousands of homes without power in Britain.

Snow also covered parts of Switzerland and southwestern Germany, and more than 20 centimeters (nearly eight inches) of snow has fallen in higher parts of Germany's Black Forest. Many motorists in Britain were forced to abandon their cars or were trapped in vehicles for hours after becoming snowed in. Dozens of people traveling from Sheffield to London spent the night in a church after their bus became stuck.

Parts of northern England saw 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) of snow. Western Power Distribution said 36,000 customers were without power, and another 69,000 had short interruptions to supplies. Staff worked through the night to reconnect customers, but thousands in the East Midlands region were still affected.

Liverpool's John Lennon Airport and Leeds Bradford International closed late Friday as workers cleared snow from the runways. The airports have reopened. British weather forecasts predict more snow showers, mainly in the north, though the main threat would be ice on roads.

The snow was welcomed in the French Alps, which have seen hardly any since the start of the ski season. But with up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) predicted this weekend above 2,000 meters (yards) altitude, one of the busiest vacation weeks of the year looked more promising — if drivers could reach the mountains.

Traffic jams snarled many of France's major highways on Saturday, with more than three-quarters of the country under severe weather watch. Only 7,000 drivers of 36,000 expected were able to reach their destination in Savoie, one of the Alps regions, according to the Interior Ministry. Emergency shelters have been set up along the way for potentially thousands who are going to be forced to stay on the road overnight.

In the north, the port of Calais closed because of wind gusts. Snow and ice led to a roughly 20-kilometer (12.5 mile) traffic jam on the A8 highway near Stuttgart in southern Germany. Parts of Germany's south and west saw more than 10 centimeters (4 inches) of fresh snow, helping some ski areas which had been struggling.

Belarus replaces prime minister, central bank head

December 27, 2014

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Belarus' authoritarian president on Saturday replaced his prime minister, the head of the national bank and an array of other top officials as the country weathers economic troubles.

The economics and industry ministers also were replaced by President Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday. He appointed his former chief of staff, Andrei Kobyakov, as the new premier. Belarus has retained a Soviet-style command economy to a large degree and concerns are rising that it will suffer from a spillover of the economic crisis in neighboring Russia. Earlier this month, Belarus imposed a 30-percent fee on currency exchanges in a move to stave off panic.

The Belorussian ruble suffered a 65-percent decline in value in 2011. In 2015, the country owes about $4 billion in debt payments, roughly two-thirds of its current foreign currency reserves. Lukashenko, in power since 1994, is expected to seek another term next year. Analysts suggested the Cabinet reshuffle was aimed at assigning blame before the election.

"The economic situation is catastrophic, store shelves are empty," said Alexander Klaskovsky, an independent analyst in Minsk. "Lukashenko found people to blame for the crisis and is transferring all responsibility to them."