Thousands turn out for Greek Independence Day parade

March 25, 2015

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Thousands of Greeks lined a main central Athens avenue despite rain on Wednesday to watch the country's annual Independence Day military parade, with spectators allowed along the route for the first time in about three years.

The crowds at the parade, where tanks rolled down the street and fighter jets and military helicopters flew overhead, were in stark contrast to last year's event, which took place under heavy security. Spectators had only been allowed near the end of the route.

Authorities limited public access to national parades after protesters had heckled officials attending such events over the handling of Greece's financial crisis and austerity measures imposed in return for billions of euros in international rescue loans.

Parliamentary elections in January saw the radical left Syriza party form a coalition government with the nationalist right-wing Independent Greeks. The two had been among the most vociferous critics of previous governments' handling of the financial crisis, and came to power on pledges of ripping up the bailout agreement which stipulated austerity measures in return for funds from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.

But the new government, faced with an increasingly severe credit crunch and strained relations with its European partners, has had to roll back on some of its pre-election promises. March 25 marks the start of Greece's 1821 uprising against the Ottoman Empire. The end of Wednesday's parade was followed for the first time by traditional Greek folk dances in the street outside Parliament.

A look at the nationalities of victims in France jet crash

March 26, 2015

Germanwings says 150 passengers and crew were aboard the plane that crashed Tuesday in the French Alps but it has not yet given a final list of the victims' nationalities. The question is complicated because some passengers may have held dual citizenship. Here's what is known so far:

— 72 Germans, confirmed by Germanwings.

— 35 Spaniards, according to Germanwings; Spain says there may be up to 50.

— 3 Argentines, confirmed by the government. Germanwings could only confirm 2 Argentines.

— 3 Americans, confirmed by the government. Germanwings could only confirm 2 Americans.

— 3 British, confirmed by the government, which says there may be more. Germanwings could only confirm 1 British.

— 3 Kazakhs, confirmed by the government

— 2 Australians, confirmed by the government and Germanwings.

— 2 Colombians, confirmed by the government. Germanwings listed 1 Colombian.

— 2 Iranians, confirmed by Germanwings.

— 2 Japanese, confirmed by the government. Germanwings listed 1 Japanese.

— 2 Mexicans, confirmed by government. Germanwings listed 1 Mexican.

— 2 Venezuelans, confirmed by Germanwings.

— 1 Belgian, confirmed by Germanwings.

— 1 Dane, confirmed by the government and Germanwings.

— 1 Dutch, confirmed by the government and Germanwings.

— 1 Israeli, confirmed by the government and Germanwings.

— 1 Moroccan, confirmed by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls.

— 1 Turk, confirmed by the government.

Russian parliament to rule on opposition lawmaker

March 26, 2015

MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian parliament is to consider a prosecutors' request to proceed with legal action against the lone lawmaker who voted against the annexation of Crimea and is suspected of embezzlement.

State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Thursday the parliament received a request from Russian prosecutors to strip Ilya Ponomarev of immunity from prosecution, paving the way for legal proceedings. Naryshkin said Ponomarev is suspected of embezzlement related to his work for a state-funded technological foundation, which was also the subject of a civil lawsuit in 2013.

The motion to strip him of immunity is to be considered on April 6. Ponomarev is one of the few remaining opposition deputies at the State Duma. He is currently in the United States. The State Duma has a history of expelling opposition lawmakers. The Russian parliament in 2012 kicked out Gennady Gudkov, who helped stage a series of anti-government street protests in 2011, and removed his immunity from prosecution on accusations that did not lead to any charges.

Ponomarev, 39, was the target of a civil lawsuit in 2013 for 2.7 million rubles ($47,000) for failing to deliver the agreed number of lectures at Skolkovo, a high-tech foundation promoted by former president Dmitry Medvedev. Following futile attempts to appeal the ruling, Ponomarev began to pay down the debt.

Naryshkin told reporters on Thursday the prosecutors suspect the lawmaker of embezzlement at Skolkovo but did not provide details. Ponomarev told The Associated Press that the actions of Russian prosecutions "are beyond the legal framework."

Ponomarev dismissed the accusations against him as politically motivated and said the motion at the Duma is a reaction to his announcement that he is going to return to Russia in May.

Arabs inch closer to old dream of joint Arab force

March 27, 2015

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Arab leaders meeting this weekend in this Egyptian Red Sea resort are moving closer than ever to creating a joint Arab military force, a sign of a new determination among Saudi Arabia, Egypt and their allies to intervene aggressively in regional hotspots, whether against Islamic militants or spreading Iranian power.

Creation of such a force has been a longtime goal that has eluded Arab nations in the 65 years since they signed a rarely used joint defense pact. And there remains reluctance among some countries, particularly allies of Iran like Syria and Iraq — a reflection of the divisions in the region.

Foreign ministers gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh ahead of the summit, which begins Saturday, agreed on a broad plan for the force. It came as Saudi Arabia and its allies opened a campaign of airstrikes in Yemen against Iranian-backed Shiite rebels who have taken over much of the country and forced its U.S.- and Gulf-backed president to flee abroad.

The Yemen campaign marked a major test of the new policy of intervention by the Gulf and Egypt. The brewing Yemen crisis — and Gulf fears that the rebels are a proxy for Iranian influence — have been one motivator in their move for a joint Arab force. But it also signaled that they are not going to wait for the Arab League, notorious for its delays and divisions, and will press ahead with their military coordination on multiple fronts.

Egyptian officials said the Yemen airstrikes are to be followed by a ground intervention to further weaken the rebels, known as Houthis, and their allies and force them into negotiations. They have also moved ahead with action in Libya after its collapse into chaos since 2011 and the rise of militants there — including now an affiliate of the Islamic State group that has overrun much of Iraq and Syria. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have both carried out airstrikes against Libyan militants in the past year.

In their agreement Thursday, the foreign ministers called on the chiefs of staff of the Arab League's 22-member nations to meet within a month to iron out details of the force, like its budget and mechanism, and report back to the organization.

The Egyptian military and security officials said the proposed force would be made of up to 40,000 elite troops and will be headquartered in either Cairo or Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The force would be backed by jet-fighters, warships and light armor. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Arab league officials said some Arab nations had reservations about the creation of a joint force, including Iraq, whose foreign minister, Ibrahim a-Jaafari, has counselled fellow ministers that more time was needed for planning. Iran holds massive influence with Iraq's Shiite-led government and its military advisers are playing an active role in the fight by government troops and allied Shiite militias against militants of the Islamic State.

The Associated Press exclusively reported last November that the leaders of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, all Sunni Muslim nations, were discussing the creation of a joint military alliance with a possible joint force to deal with the threat posed by Islamic militants in Libya and to combat the growing influence of Shiite, non-Arab Iran, particularly in Yemen. Jordan and Bahrain have since expressed their willingness to join the alliance.

Egypt's president, soldier-turned-politician Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, was the first Arab leader to speak publicly about the plan. In a recent address, he said there was a pressing need now for a joint Arab force and repeated his assertion that Egypt was prepared to intervene militarily in support of its Gulf Arab allies. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have poured billions of dollars into Egypt's emptying coffers since el-Sissi ousted Mohammed Morsi in July 2013 following mass protests against the rule of the Islamist president.

"The resolution sends a clear message that Arab nations can agree on a plan to defend themselves," Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby told a news conference late Thursday in Sharm el-Sheikh. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said the proposed force would undertake "quick and effective missions."

Saudi Arabia, a staunch U.S. ally, views Yemen as strategically important to its national security and has traditionally patronized key players there like top politicians, military commanders and tribal chiefs to protect its interests. It fought a brief border war against the Houthis in 2009. Similarly, Egypt views neighboring Libya as vital to its own national interests. Last month, Egyptian warplanes struck Islamic State positions in eastern Libya in retaliation for its mass beheading of 21 Coptic Christian Egyptians.

Thursday's resolution, however, will streamline military actions like those undertaken by the Egyptians and Saudis in Libya and Yemen respectively, allowing future actions to be carried out under Arab League cover. El-Sissi's calls for a U.N.-backed force to intervene in Libya were stymied by the West on the grounds that more time should be given to U.N.-led efforts to reconcile Libya's rival governments.

Egyptian forces have recently concluded large-scale war games near its border with Libya. Codenamed "Thunder," the exercise involved navy warships, attack helicopters and beach landings by army commandos.

Moreover, Egypt and its Gulf Arab allies have over the past year held a series of joint war games, including several in the Red Sea, a tactic that the Egyptian officials said was necessary to create harmony between members of the proposed force.

Already, the officials said, Egyptian troops are embedded with Saudi forces on the kingdom's border with Iraq, about a third of which is controlled by the Islamic State. Egyptian military advisers are also deployed near Saudi Arabia's border with Yemen. As the crisis in Yemen worsened, Egypt has coordinated efforts with Sudan and Horn of Africa nation Eritrea to ensure the safety of shipping through the southern Bab al-Mandab entrance of the Red Sea, which Yemen overlooks.

Turkey offers $50 million loan to Ukraine, urges protection of Crimean Tatars

By Natalia Zinets
March 20, 2015

KIEV (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan offered a $50 million loan to Ukraine and called for the rights of Crimean Tatars to be protected during a trip to Kiev on Friday, but avoided outright criticism of trade partner Russia.

In a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Erdogan said Turkey was also offering $10 million in humanitarian assistance on top of the loan, which is meant to help Ukraine cover its budget deficit.

"We have expressed our support for the territorial integrity, political union and sovereignty of Ukraine, including Crimea, in every platform," Erdogan said, voicing support for the Minsk ceasefire brokered by Germany and France in February.

"We also wish for the continuation of Ukraine’s stance of protecting the rights of all ethnic and religious minorities, especially Crimean Tatar Turks, who have proved their loyalty to their country during this crisis," he said.

Turks have close kinship bonds with the Muslim, Turkic-speaking Tatar minority in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Moscow annexed from Ukraine a year ago. Erdogan has repeatedly warned that the instability could have regional repercussions.

But Turkey has deepening trade ties with Russia and has been reluctant to openly criticize Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Erdogan spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, discussing energy deals and the Ukraine crisis.

Russian gas exporter Gazprom said in January it planned to build an undersea gas pipeline via the Turkish-Greek border -- a project informally known as "Turkish Stream" -- as it seeks to supply Europe while by-passing Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials had been expected to seek assurances from Erdogan and Energy Minister Taner Yildiz during their trip that those ties will not harm Ukrainian interests.

Asked at the press conference about the Turkish Stream project, Erdogan gave no new details, saying simply that Turkey found the Russian proposal "reasonable" and that Russia remained its biggest natural gas supplier.

A senior Turkish official said ahead of the visit that Ukraine's ambition to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant on the Black Sea coast would be on the agenda, but that Ankara still opposes the project on environmental grounds.

"Nobody should expect from this visit a step from Turkey that could strain ties with Russia," a second official said ahead of the meetings with Poroshenko.

(Additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev, Orhan Coskun in Ankara, Humeyra Pamuk and Ece Toksabay in Istanbul; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Thousands of Afghan refugees facing harassment flee Pakistan

March 16, 2015

TORKHAM, Afghanistan (AP) — Crossing back into his native Afghanistan from Pakistan, Nezamuddin wept as he recounted the hardships his family of 11 had faced in their years as refugees, troubles that only grew insufferable after a recent terror attack there killed 150 people.

"Whenever there was a bomb blast they would arrest us for it, beat us up, take our money," said Nezamuddin, who goes by one name like many Afghans. "Now I don't know how I am going to look after my old father, myself and my mother."

Since January, almost 50,000 Afghans like Nezamuddin's family have passed through Torkham, double the amount of all refugees returning through the border town in 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration. Many like Nezamuddin say they fled Pakistan over increased harassment by police who told them to return to Afghanistan, a country many have never even seen, putting new pressure on both countries to find solutions to the decades-old flow of refugees.

There are some 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan — and up to an estimated 1.5 million unregistered Afghans live there, said Abdul Quadir Baloch, the Pakistani minister responsible for refugee issues. Exact figures remain elusive as tens of thousands cross the border daily.

Pakistan initially welcomed waves of Afghan refugees after the 1979 invasion by the Soviet Union. But as years progressed, attitudes hardened. Many now see Afghan refugees as criminals or militants — or taking jobs from Pakistanis.

Then came the Dec. 16 Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar, in which 150 people, most of them children, were killed. Suddenly, Afghan refugees reported increased harassment by authorities checking their documents, demanding bribes and telling them they had to return to Afghanistan, Human Rights Watch said.

At Torkham, Afghan refugees now pour over the border with little more than the clothes on their backs. Some arrive on foot, others in rented trucks with family members huddled between bags, boxes, mattresses and suitcases.

Awal Khan, a father of seven, spent 35 years in Pakistan, arriving as a baby when his parents fled after the 1979 invasion. Khan said he worked as a daily laborer, earning just enough to feed his family.

Serious harassment began after the school attack, he said. "They went house to house, looking for Afghan refugees. They forced us to leave," he told The Associated Press. "I have no house to live in and no money to rent one. We will have to live in a tent."

Syed Liaqat Banori, who heads the Islamabad-based Society for Human Rights and Prisoners' Aid, said authorities often harass Afghan refugees following security incidents but this time was much worse. "They are not asking them to leave the country but if they are harassed, they are asked to leave their houses, they are asked to leave the schools, colleges and close their businesses," Banori said. "What they will do?"

The Pakistani government denies systematic harassment targets Afghan refugees. "No harassment whatsoever is going to be cast on the unregistered Afghan refugees who are living here," said Baloch, the government minister. "We are going to take care of them."

Pakistani officials announced last week that they plan to register all unregistered Afghans in the country. Pakistan and Afghanistan also have discussed new financial incentives to get more refugees to return home.

Sayed Hussain Alemi Balkhi, Afghanistan's minister for refugees and repatriation, told journalists Saturday that registration of Afghan refugees in Pakistan will begin with a month. "The Afghan government wants all Afghan refugees to come back to their country, but returning all Afghans at once would create many problems," he said.

But even the current flood of returnees is proving overwhelming for aid groups like the International Organization for Migration at Torkham, spokesman Matthew Graydon said. "The capacity here was designed for maybe 10 to 15 families a day and we are having much more than that," he said. "What we have here is a large gap in assistance that we are struggling to meet."

Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Islamabad and Lynne O'Donnell in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report.

Arabs make unprecedented gains in Knesset

18 March 2015 Wednesday

The Joint Arab List – a coalition of four Arab political groups led by Aiman Ouda – won 14 seats in Tuesday's polls, coming in third after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and the center-left Zionist Union alliance.

The 14-seat win will mean the largest Arab presence in Israel's Knesset since the first Knesset polls in 1949, which were held one year after Israel's establishment on occupied Palestinian territory.

The Arab Alliance is comprised of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), the National Democratic Assembly (Balad), the Islamic Movement in Southern Israel, and the United Arab List.

Dov Khenin, a left-leaning Jewish politician who ran on the Joint Arab List's ticket, managed to clinch a seat at the new assembly.

Israeli-Arab parties won 11 seats in 2013 polls, before early elections were ordered in late 2014 due to rifts within Netanyahu's coalition government.

Nearly 1.6 million Arabs live in Israel, accounting for more than 20 percent of the self-proclaimed Jewish state's roughly eight-million-strong population.

Israeli-Arab party leaders note that Arab turnout in previous Knesset polls had usually hovered at around 50 percent.

The Palestine Liberation Organization, for its part, expressed disappointment over the victory of Netanyahu's Likud.

Veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said earlier Wednesday that the poll results had "buried" the Palestine-Israel peace process.

Source: World Bulletin.
Link: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/156721/arabs-make-unprecedented-gains-in-knesset.