Thursday, 17 March 2016

Saudi Arabia flexes its military muscle

Saudi Arabia recently conducted large-scale military drills with some 20 allies from Arab and Sunni countries. While the soldiers were learning how to better coordinate their actions, with a strong focus on anti-terrorist operations, Saudi diplomats were busy strengthening ties with their allied counterparts.

Indeed, the Saudi monarchy seems keen to display its rank as one of the region's geopolitical heavyweights. But beyond the wars in Syria, Yemen and Iraq and the fight against terrorist groups, one country appears to be in the crosshairs of these military and diplomatic manoeuvres: Iran.
FRANCE 24's Marc Perelman and Georges Yazbeck report from Saudi Arabia.
A programme prepared by Patrick Lovett and Laura Burloux.

Committee on crashed Russian plane in Sinai refers case to Egypt attorney general


The Egypt-led committee investigating the crash of a Russian passenger airplane in the Sinai peninsula last October said on Thursday it was referring the case to Egypt's attorney general, the first indication it suspects foul play.
After receiving a report on the crash from Russia suggesting suspected criminal activity, the committee decided to refer the case to the attorney general, it said in a statement.
Russia and Western countries have long said that they believe the flight was brought down by a bomb smuggled on board.
The investigation committee has said it had yet to find evidence of foul play, but Egypt's president said in a speech in February that the plane was downed by terrorists seeking to damage its tourism industry and ties with Moscow.
The Islamic State militant group, whose Egypt affiliate is waging an insurgency in the Sinai, said it smuggled the explosive aboard inside a soft drink can.
An EgyptAir mechanic whose cousin joined Islamic State in Syria is suspected of planting the bomb, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in January.
The crash has called into question Egypt's campaign to eradicate Islamist militancy and damaged its tourism industry, a cornerstone of the economy.

Six policemen, three militants killed in N. Sinai gunfire, explosions

Thu, 17/03/2016 - 11:16
AFP
A police conscript was killed on Thursday when a roadside bomb exploded in Sheikh Zuwayed, North Sinai, according to security sources.
The sources said that unknown perpetrators planted the device by the roadside and waited for a passing patrol before setting off the explosion, killing the 22-year-old policeman.
In a separate incident, five police personnel were killed and eight wounded when a stash of explosives seized in earlier security raids exploded inside their camp in Rafah, North Sinai. According to Sky News Arabia, the explosion was triggered by militant mortar fire into the camp.
Meanwhile, army spokesperson Mohamed Samir said three militants were killed in an exchange of fire with army troops. The militants were attacked as they were trying to plant an IED in Rafah.
Since the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government in 2013, hundreds of police and army personnel have been killed in attacks by terrorist groups affiliated to the Islamic State group.
Many parts of the Sinai Peninsula have been under a partial curfew since October 2014.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

Egypt to regulate Uber, Careem ride-hailing services


AFP
Egypt said on Wednesday it will regulate ride-hailing services Uber and Careem after they sparked protests from taxi drivers in Cairo over allegations the smartphone applications bypass traffic regulations.
Conventional taxi drivers are up in arms as more and more commuters opt for the two apps for rides in the Egyptian capital.
The cab drivers are not only protesting the loss of clients to Uber and Careem, but also that the two services use vehicles that are not registered for ferrying commuters.
Egypt's Cabinet said the authorities would take steps to regulate the two ride-hailing services.
The parliamentary affairs ministry would "prepare legal amendments to regulate the applications after reviewing similar legislation in other countries," the Cabinet said, adding the changes would be presented within a month.
Uber and Careem drivers would also "have to pay taxes" and their apps would need to establish a "suitable framework for traditional taxi drivers to join them," the Cabinet said in a statement.
Earlier this month, Uber agreed with the Moscow government to use only officially licensed taxi drivers.
Since its launch in San Francisco five years ago, Uber has enjoyed spectacular global growth, and is now operating in more than 60 countries. It began services in Egypt from November 2014.
The United Arab Emirates-based Careem, which operates across 20 cities in the Middle East, has also made inroads in Egypt.

Big-mouthed clown? China reacts to Donald Trump's rise

Hong Kong (CNN)For months, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted China on the campaign trail, pledging to put tariffs on goods produced overseas and bring things like iPhone production back to the United States.
Trump has even used a broken-English accent at a campaign rally to mock the negotiating style of Chinese businessmen.
Beijing had previously downplayed any impact Trump's rhetoric could have on U.S.-China relations, reducing it as a mere "disturbance."
But this week, that all changed.
With Trump securing major victories on the road to the White House, China issued a scathing criticism of the U.S. election process and the candidate who has "opened a Pandora's box in U.S. society."
In an editorial published this week, China's state-owned Global Times newspaper condemns the billionaire candidate as "big-mouthed" and "abusively forthright."
The Global Times claims Trump was initially supposed to "act as a clown to attract more voters for GOP." Instead, it goes on to imply that the Republican party lost control of Trump -- who has now become the party's worst nightmare.

 What would a President Trump mean for the world?

Mussolini, Hitler, Trump?

The editorial also uses Trump's political rise to highlight America's decline and the failings of democracy, saying: "Mussolini and Hitler came to power through elections, a heavy lesson for Western democracy."
In its final paragraph, the Global Times warns that the United States should watch itself from becoming a global destructive force before pointing fingers at China for its "so-called nationalism and tyranny."
While a Communist Party mouthpiece uses the rise of Trump to condemn both him and Western-style democracy, survivors of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have quoted Trump to condemn his failure to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party.
During last week's CNN Republican debate in Miami, Trump called pro-democracy demonstrations a "riot."
Trump also said he believed the Chinese government had a "strong, powerful" response in ending the student protests on June 4, 1989.
China reacts to the rise of Donald Trump 03:36
Since those comments, Chinese dissidents have lined up to condemn him for supporting the bloody crackdown and to demand an apology.
In an article for TIME magazine, 1989 student protest leader Wang Dan denounces Trump for using the same language as the Communist Party.
"I am disappointed by and angry at Mr. Trump's words," he writes. "If a bloody repression can be praised as a 'strong, powerful' action, what does this mean about American values, especially when this blatant mischaracterization comes from a presidential candidate?"

Freedom fighter fears Trump

Fellow Tiananmen protest leader Wu'er Kaixi turned to Facebook to describe Trump as "an enemy of the values that America deeply defines itself by -- the same values that have long provided hope to the victims of oppressive power worldwide."
He goes on to say, "Those of us who have fought for freedom anywhere in the world worry that something is about to change in America."
But perhaps the most graphic criticism leveled at Trump is by the exiled political cartoonist Wang Liming, better known as Rebel Pepper.
Forced to live in Japan for his own safety, the cartoonist is well known for skewering China's elite.
In a cartoon released this week on his Twitter feed addressed simply "to Trump," Rebel Pepper portrays the American candidate as a tank commander brutally mowing down and crushing a protester while declaring, "This is the best thing we imported from China."

Poker face?

Trump's controversial remarks on China's past and present are no longer being ignored by China's dissidents or political establishment.
And yet despite his relentless attacks and steady political advance, Chinese premier Li Keqiang says relations between the U.S. and China will continue to develop no matter who wins the presidential race.
That's Beijing, putting on its best poker face.


Kurdish Freedom Falcons claim responsibility for Ankara bombing

By Gul Tuysuz, CNN
(CNN)A Kurdish rebel group has claimed responsibility for a car bomb attack in the Turkish capital city that killed at least 35 people.
The bombing in Ankara on Sunday was the work of a female suicide car bomber, Seher Cagla Demir, who was identified in a statement posted Thursday on the website of the Kurdish Freedom Falcons, or TAK.
Before the claim of responsibility, Interior Ministry officials also identified the bomber as Demir and said she is believed to have received training from the Syria-based Kurdish rebels known as the YPG.
In the statement on its website, TAK -- an offshoot of the Kurdish separatist group, PKK -- confirmed that Demir led a team of attackers, referring to her as "our comrade."

Ally or foe?

Turkey and the United States consider the PKK to be a terrorist organization, but the two NATO allies have been at loggerheads over the classification of the YPG. While Turkey views the group as an extension of the PKK and therefore a terrorist organization, the United States sees it as one of its most reliable and effective allies in the fight against ISIS in Syria. From time to time, Turkish artillery pieces have fired across the border at YPG positions in Syria.

Collapse of the European Union? A Skeptical View


What I see happening is more and more rhetoric and less and less real action. For good or bad, my sense is that the institutions of the EU will survive, argues Immanuel Wallerstein.
Middle East Online
One of the many games pundits and politicians are playing these days is to spell out why and how the European Union (EU) is going to collapse, is already collapsing. Anyone who follows the news worldwide knows all the standard explanations: Grexit and Brexit will only lead to other exits; nobody wants more migrants (refugees) in their country; Germany has too much power, or not enough; ultra-rightwing forces/parties are rising almost everywhere; the Schengen Agreement providing visa-less movement is being suspended in most countries that had adopted it; unemployment is unstoppably growing.
There is an underlying theme in this litany of pessimism (or is it optimism?). Europeans — both the sophisticated and the "ignorant" — have become impervious to rational arguments. They are almost all acting irrationally, responding to their emotions and not to reflective analyses. But is this so, Charlie Brown? It makes for a good comic strip, but does that mean the EU will actually cease to exist?
I am not here giving my views about whether the EU is good or bad, should or should not be supported or undermined. Rather, I wish to analyze what I think will actually happen. Will the institutions that now make up the European Union continue to exist ten or twenty years from now? I suspect they will. To see why I think so, let us review together what may make Europeans — both the sophisticated and the "ignorant" — hesitate about taking the fatal step of dismantling what they have been working so hard to create for the last seventy years or so. There are some reasons that one might call economic, others that are geopolitical, and finally still others that might be called cultural.
Let us begin with the economy. The situation in terms of current income, both for the states and for most individuals, is bad everywhere in the EU. The question is whether dismantling Europe would be likely to improve it, or in fact make it worse.
One subject of constant debate is the Eurozone — will it survive? Take for example what happened in Greece in the two 2015 elections there. Alexei Tsipras, the leader of the now-governing party Syriza, was elected in the first election on an anti-austerity platform. He then, in negotiating with the EU for a further loan, retreated on just about everything he had promised the Greek voters. He agreed to measures demanded by the EU that severely hurt the real income of the majority of the population. For this, he was denounced for betraying his promises by left forces within Syriza who withdrew from the party and established their own list. Yet in the next election called very swiftly by Tsipras, he received the mandate again. The Greek voters chose him rather than the left forces within Syriza.
It seems clear, at least to me, that the Greek voters paid no attention to the left denunciations because above all they did not want to leave the Eurozone. Tsipras had made maintaining the euro a priority and the left forces sought instead to resume an autonomous currency. Apparently, the Greek voters believed that the very real negatives of being in the Eurozone were, in their view, less than the probable greater negatives of recreating the drachma.
The situation is roughly the same concerning the so-called safety net features that European governments had installed, such as pensions and unemployment benefits. Virtually all the countries in the EU have been cutting the safety net back for lack of funds. These cuts have been resisted, sometimes successfully, by left or left-of-center parties. But is there any reason to suppose that, were the European Union to disappear tomorrow, these governments would have more funds to distribute? The left parties often say so, condemning what they see as the neoliberal pressures of the EU bureaucracy in Brussels. But look around the world. Can you point to governments not under the purview of Brussels that have been able to increase welfare-state expenditures?
If there is no real advantage in terms of real income levels in dismantling the EU, are there other reasons to do it? The EU has played an important geopolitical role since its inception, and has been growing steadily in membership. The United States has been publicly supporting the rise and expansion of the EU but actually trying to undermine it. The United States has seen the EU as a major geopolitical danger. It is obvious to most observers that the EU's geopolitical strength is the result of numbers. A dismantlement would end this strength and reduce the separate European states to no practical importance geopolitically.
In the end, most European leaders and movements understand this. However much some of them rail against the EU as a structure, are they ready in fact to yield the advantages that a large singular entity gives them? Rightwing groups, especially in eastern Europe, see the EU as one pressure on the United States to offer them military protection against a putatively aggressive Russia. Leftwing groups in other countries, such as France, use the strength of the EU to contain what they think are putatively aggressive actions by the United States. What would either of these groups gain by the dismantlement of the EU?
Finally, there are the so-called cultural links between the United States and Europe. They are publicly proclaimed and more quietly disdained as a remnant of U.S. hegemonic dominance in the first twenty-five years after 1945. Once again there are varying motivations. The left parties and movements want to use their unified structure as a mode of regaining the cultural autonomy (even superiority) they felt they had before 1945. The rightwing forces want to use their strength to insist upon their cultural autonomy on so-called human rights questions. Once again, in union there is strength.
What I see happening is more and more rhetoric and less and less real action. For good or bad, my sense is that the institutions of the EU will survive. This does not mean they won't change. There is, and will continue to be, a real political struggle within the EU about the kind of collective institution it ought to be. This intra-European political struggle is one part of a worldwide struggle about the kind of world we wish to build as an outcome to the structural crisis of the modern world-system.
Immanuel Wallerstein, Senior Research Scholar at Yale University, is the author of The Decline of American Power: The U.S. in a Chaotic World (New Press).
Copyright ©2016 Immanuel Wallerstein - distributed by Agence Global

Can Turkey Steer Away From Catastrophe?

As someone who was imprisoned and banned from holding office, Erdogan is a product of the hard-knock school of politics where one survives by completely knocking out opponents. As a result, he has made many domestic and international enemies along the way, stresses Abukar Arman.
Middle East Online
Sunday’s suicide car bomb in the heart of Turkey’s capital marks the third bombing that Ankara has seen in the past several months. This latest that killed 34 people and wounded over 125 was clearly targeting civilians since it was detonated in a public square. Before any one officially claimed responsibility, Turkish fighter jets were bombing Kurdish rebel targets.
Though this article is not about the Kurdish dilemma, I will be remiss if I don’t mention the complexity of the issue, its bloody history, and the necessity to find a new paradigm.
In dealing with its immediate threat, it behoves the Turkish government to put politicking in the backburner, separate the non-violent from the violent, and mend fences with the former. Swallowing that bitter pill is necessary for terrorism to be brought “to its knees”.
Within its first decade after AK Party came to power in 2002, it was credited for paralyzing Turkey’s “deep state” – a behind the curtain network of high-ranking military officials and secular power-brokers committed to protect the markedly Islamophobic order of Ataturk’s brand of absolute secularism. Moreover, it was credited for Turkey’s remarkable economic and geopolitical expansion as well as the “sweeping transformation of the Turkish state and society; and the leading role that Turkey has come to play in world affairs.” That said, none of these would’ve been achieved had it not been for the alliance between the AKP and the Gulen Movement.
Compromise In Short Supply
Ever since late 2013 when the AKP—led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan—and the Gulen Movement (Hizmet)—led by religious scholar Fethullah Gulen— publicly locked horns, Turkey has found itself sinking in a political quicksand. And indeed there is enough blame to go around.
As someone who has respect for both leaders, who has friends on both sides of the fence, and is someone who believed in the timeliness and viability of theTurkish Model of governance and the education-centric Gulen Movement, I have been profoundly disheartened by the recent turn of events. Next door in the Middle East, the political landscape is peppered with new graves of states that perished due to abuse of power and failure to think strategically.
A couple of years ago, in an article titled Turkey’s Test Wills, I wrote: “Erdogan and Gulen are well aware that Turkey is more important than any individual, organization or party interest,” but now I am not so confident. Both leaders, who are also trained Imams or Islamic preachers, seem not to mind the bare-knuckle political cage fight they found themselves actively engaging. Granted, one-side is overtly more aggressive.
Personalized Schism
So, what lead to this AKP Gulen dichotomy?
Three main factors come to mind. First, corruption and power abuse by AKP affiliates and politicization of the matter by the Gulen loyalists. Second, domestic and foreign elements that are driven by the ideological conviction that any model of governance that demonstrates that Islam can exist within a constitutional framework, embrace modernity, and share space with a pluralistic society is a threat. Third, leaders on both sides suffering from what might be called political de-realization syndrome.
De-realization is a psychological condition that gives one the perception that his or her surroundings are not real. That perception in turn inspires delusional reasoning, and at times, self-harm. Tragically, in their tit for tat frenzy, both the AKP and the Gulen Movement make a good case for such syndrome.
Worsening Situation
The AKP led government paints any and all things Gulenist—schools, media, businesses, etc.—as terrorists or treasonous sympathizers- charges that some Gulenists dismiss as government’s payback against them and all who oppose it. Others consider this as a unilateral abuse of power by President Erdogan.
As someone who was imprisoned and banned from holding office, Erdogan is a product of the hard-knock school of politics where one survives by completely knocking out opponents. As a result, he has made many domestic and international enemies along the way. However, by all objective standards he has gone overboard when, in December 2014, he declared a 74 year old man—Gulen—as the head of a terrorist organization conspiring to establish a “parallel state”. And he has indeed outdone himself when he shut down a media group by criticizing his policies.
However one may explain or spin this, ordering police raid of an opposition media group and placing it under government trusteeship—in this case the Gulen affiliated Zaman newspaper—is a dreadful and an alarming action. This kind of an infringement on freedom of press only makes President Erdogan and the Turkish government look like President Sisi and the Egyptian regime.
According to his critics, Erdogan is accused of overreaching to control all levers and switches of power- executive, judicial, legislative, social, and economic. “This is one man's unquenchable lust for power and it demonstrates how a well-functioning clientelist system of epic proportions can change masses' views of politicians,” said my friend, Dr. A. Kadir Yildirim- a research scholar at Rice University's Baker Institute. “Erdogan has spent his long-time ideological comrades like Bulent Arinc and Abdullah Gul just because they voiced some of their criticisms,” Yildirim added.
On their part, Erdogan supporters put all the blame on Gulen. “He is the one who politicized the matter and went for the jugular vein. Once he defanged the military, he wanted to come after AKP by any means,” said a pro-government friend who was reluctant to reveal his identity. In the U.S., the AKP supporters are far out-numbered, out-organized and out-lobbied by the Gulenists and their active institutions.
Where There Is Will There Is Way
As an outsider looking in, it is not too difficult to see how both sides need strategists from their respective camp who would constantly remind them to never lose sight of the big picture. It is hard to predict where current crisis and deadly explosions at the heart of Turkey might lead to. Turkey is too important to fail; not only for its citizens, but for the Middle East, Europe and indeed US.
Make no mistake; Turkey is in the crosshairs- domestically and beyond its borders. At this critical juncture, the government’s strategy to routinely ram through political conflicts might prove unsustainable, if not suicidal. In order to preserve the Turkish state, pragmatism should be the new order.
The situation in Turkey, Middle East and many other parts of the world beg for transformational leaders with vision, wisdom, and right temperament. It takes more than winning elections to cultivate harmonious society, optimally functioning state, and a nation that puts its national interests above personal, party, or movement. A divided nation is a weak nation, and leadership by wrath is a suicidal option.
In other words, in order to save Turkey, President Erdogan might have to clean up the political derbies and extend an olive branch to oppositions. Otherwise, ‘Lord, have mercy on Turkey’.
...........................................................
Abukar Arman is a foreign policy analyst and a former diplomat. Engage in dialogue via Twitter: @4DialogSK

Trump presidency rated among top 10 global risks: EIU

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Dallas, TexasDonald Trump is moving closer to clinching the Republican presidential nomination despite opposition within party ranks 
Donald Trump winning the US presidency is considered one of the top 10 risks facing the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The research firm warns he could disrupt the global economy and heighten political and security risks in the US.
However, it does not expect Mr Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton who it sees as "his most likely Democratic contender".
He is rated as riskier than Britain leaving the European Union or an armed clash in the South China Sea.
China encountering a "hard landing" or sharp economic slowdown and Russia's interventions in Ukraine and Syria preceding a new "cold war" are among the events seen as more dangerous.
"Thus far Mr Trump has given very few details of his policies - and these tend to be prone to constant revision," the EIU said in its global risk assessment, which looks at impact and probability.
The EIU ranking uses a scale of one to 25, with Mr Trump garnering a rating of 12, the same level of risk as "the rising threat of jihadi terrorism destabilising the global economy".
Global risk ranking by the EIU The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranks global risks on a scale of one to 25 
"He has been exceptionally hostile towards free trade, including notably Nafta, and has repeatedly labelled China as a 'currency manipulator'," the EIU said.
It warned his strong language directed towards Mexico and China in particular "could escalate rapidly into a trade war".
Mr Trump has called for a "big big wall" to be built on the US-Mexican border, paid for by Mexico, to keep its illegal immigrants and drug dealers out of the United States.

'Innate hostility'

On the campaign trail, Mr Trump has advocated killing the families of terrorists and invading Syria to eradicate the so-called Islamic State group and appropriate its oil.
"His militaristic tendencies towards the Middle East and ban on all Muslim travel to the US would be a potent recruitment tool for jihadi groups, increasing their threat both within the region and beyond," the EIU added.
Critics of Mr Trump have raised similar concerns.
However, the businessman is moving closer to clinching the Republican presidential nominee ticket after winning most of the popular vote.
Mr Trump, who has no prior political experience, has said his supporters would "riot" if he was denied the nomination.
In the event he does win the nomination and presidency, the EIU forecasts that domestic and foreign policymaking will be undermined.
"Innate hostility within the Republican hierarchy towards Mr Trump, combined with the inevitable virulent Democratic opposition, will see many of his more radical policies blocked in Congress," it said.

 

Brazil protests over Lula chief of staff appointment

Brazilians have protested in several cities against President Dilma Rousseff after she named her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, chief of staff.
In the capital Brasilia, riot police fired pepper spray at protesters outside the presidential palace.
Lula is currently being investigated in a major corruption scandal.
Hours after the move, the federal judge leading the probe against Lula released phone recordings suggesting Ms Rousseff appointed Lula to spare him arrest.
Brazil's leader, who is herself facing impeachment proceedings, defended the appointment.
She said Lula was a "skilful political negotiator" and experienced leader who would help kick off economic recovery.
She said the ex-president could also still be prosecuted by the Supreme Court.
Protesters outside the Planalto Presidential Palace in BrasiliaSome 2,000 protesters gathered outside the Presidential Palace in Brasilia 
The release of the telephone recordings caused an uproar in Congress in Brasilia, with chaotic scenes as opposition leaders gathered around a microphone chanting "resign, resign".
There were also demonstrations in at least three other Brazilian cities.
"Theft, corruption, that's the coup... We're not clowns. Brazil is better than all of this," Reuters news agency quoted one Brasilia protester as saying.
Lula was briefly detained and questioned earlier this month over allegations of money laundering connected to Operation Car Wash, a massive investigation into corruption at the state oil giant, Petrobras.
He denies the allegations, saying they are aimed at preventing him from running for president again in 2018.
In the taped telephone conversation released by Judge Sergio Moro, who is overseeing the Petrobas probe, Ms Rousseff offered to send Lula a copy of his appointment "in case of necessity" - interpreted by some as meaning in case he needed it to avoid arrest.
 

Islamic State 'committed genocide' says US



Islamic State militants in Raqqa, Syria, in 2014 

The US says the Islamic State (IS) group has committed genocide against Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said IS was "genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology and by actions".
He also said the group was responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq.
"Naming these crimes is important, but what is essential is to stop them," Mr Kerry added.
Mr Kerry admitted that a lack of access to IS areas meant the US did not have a "complete picture" of the atrocities that had been carried out. 
He said the "full facts" must be sought, and the US would "strongly support" efforts to collect evidence of IS atrocities and brings those responsible to account.
"The fact is that Daesh kills Christians because they are Christians, Yazidis because they are Yazidis, Shia because they are Shia," he said.
"This is the message it conveys to children under its control. Its entire world view is based on eliminating those who do not subscribe to its perverse ideology."
Genocide is defined by the UN Convention as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group".
It is understood by most to be the gravest crime against humanity it is possible to commit.

Kurdish militant group with ties to PKK claims Ankara bombing

 Text by NEWS WIRES

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) militant group on Thursday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the Turkish capital Ankara that killed 37 people, and vowed to continue its strikes against security forces.

Separately, Germany said it had closed its embassy in Ankara due to indications that an attack could be imminent. The consulate and German school in Istanbul were also closed, it said.
TAK had previously claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Ankara last month that killed 29 people. Ankara has now been hit by three bombings in a space of five months, ratcheting up security fears across the city and Turkey.
In a statement posted online, the group described the car bombing, which occurred on Sunday, as revenge for security operations in the mainly Kurdish southeast that have been under way since July, in which hundreds of civilians, security forces and militants have been killed.
TAK says it split from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Experts who follow Kurdish militants say the groups retain ties. At least 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK began its fight for Kurdish autonomy in the southeast three decades ago.
(REUTERS)

Scans show '90% chance' of hidden chambers in Tutankhamun tomb

© DPA/AFP | Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun died aged 19 in 1324 BC after just nine years on the throne
CAIRO (AFP) -  Radar scans of the tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamun in the ancient necropolis of Luxor showed a "90 percent" chance of two hidden chambers, possibly containing organic material, Egypt's antiquities minister said Thursday.
Archaeologists had scanned the tomb to find what some believe could be the resting place of Queen Nefertiti, the legendary beauty and wife of Tutankhamun's father whose mummy has never been found.
© 2016 AFP

Kurds declare federal region in Syria's north: officials

© AFP | Amer al-Halloush (C), a member of of the Syrian Democratic Council, the political branch of a Kurdish-Arab fighting force, pictured following a meeting in Rmeilan, in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province, on March 16, 2016
RMEILAN (SYRIA) (AFP) -  Syria's Kurds on Thursday declared a federal region in the country's north, officials told AFP, as they seek further autonomy in areas under their control.
Two officials at talks involving Kurdish, Arab, and other parties in the town of Rmeilan said delegates had agreed on creating a "federal system" unifying the three mainly Kurdish cantons in northern Syria.
© 2016 AFP

Egypt's Sisi tells West to keep out of Libya

© Egyptian Presidency/AFP/File | Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has suggested European governments are underestimating the scale of Islamist influence in Libya
ROME (AFP) -  Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has warned Western powers Libya could spiral out of control if they try to intervene militarily in the conflict-wracked North African state.
Speaking in a rare interview, the military-backed ruler of one of the region's biggest powers said the West and its allies should instead concentrate on strengthening the army of Libya's internationally recognised government and let it do the job of stabilising the country.
The army is commanded by Khalif Haftar, an officially retired general who spent 20 years in exile in the United States and has been described as a potential 'Libyan Sisi' because of his fierce opposition to Islamist groups.
"If we provide arms and support to the national Libyan army it can do the job better than anyone else, better than any outside intervention which would risk dragging us into a situation that risks getting out of hand and triggering uncontrollable developments," Sisi told Italy's La Repubblica in an interview published Thursday.
Sisi said history had "spoken clearly" about the difficulty of trying to impose peace from outside.
"Two lessons must be kept in mind: that of Afghanistan and that of Somalia," he said. "Those were long foreign interventions (that started) more than 30 years ago and what progress has been made since?
"The results are there for everyone to see."
Sisi also suggested that European governments were underestimating the scale of Islamist influence in Libya.
"Europeans look at Libya as if IS (the Islamic State group) was the only threat," he said.
"That is a serious mistake. We have to be aware that we are up against different acronyms with the same ideology: what do we say about al-Qaeda networks like Ansar al-Islam, like Somalia's Shebab or Boko Haram in Africa."
Italy has said it is prepared to lead a UN-backed international peace force into Libya if and when the country proves capable of establishing a national unity government with the authority to ask for outside security help.
Sisi said such a mission would be fraught with difficulty and it would be better to concentrate on building up Haftar's forces.
The army commander was involved in the 1969 military coup which brought Moamer Kadhafi to power in Libya. He later fell out with the dictator and was forced into exile, returning in 2011 to take part in the uprising that toppled Kadhafi.
He has long had close relations with the Egyptian military having served alongside their forces in the Sinai desert as a young Libyan officer during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
© 2016 AFP

Germany jails 'triple agent' for eight years

© DPA/AFP | The Federal Intelligence Service (BND) headquarters in Berlin
BERLIN (AFP) -  A Munich court Thursday handed down an eight-year prison sentence to a German former intelligence agent who spied for both the CIA and the Russian secret service because he wanted to "experience something exciting".
Markus Reichel had admitted to handing over "scores of documents and internal information" to the CIA, including names and addresses of agents for the Federal Intelligence Service or BND, in exchange for 95,000 euros ($107,000).
Some 200 of those documents sent to the CIA were deemed very sensitive, and even included papers detailing the BND's counter-espionage strategies.
The 32-year-old had also delivered three classified documents to the Russian secret service.
Reichel's case had emerged during a furore over revelations of widespread US spying in documents released by former CIA intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, which had also plunged its partner service the BND into an unprecedented crisis.
Partially disabled after a botched childhood vaccination, Reichel, who speaks haltingly, had admitted that he had spied for foreign services out of dissatisfaction with his job at the BND.
"No one trusted me with anything at the BND. At the CIA it was different," he told the court at the opening of his trial in November.
Not only did the CIA offer "adventure", the Americans also gave him what he craved -- recognition.
"I would be lying if I said that I didn't like that," he told the court.
"I wanted something new, to experience something exciting," he added.
- Agent Uwe -
After finishing his studies at a training centre for the disabled in 2004, Reichel had struggled to find a job until late 2007, when the BND offered him a position in its personnel division.
As a member of staff in the lowest salary band, he drew a monthly net pay of 1,200 euros.
The CIA did not pay him significantly more -- he received between 10,000 and 20,000 euros a year in cash at a secret meeting point in Austria, but it gave him a thrill, he said.
Using the undercover name "Uwe", Reichel first sent documents to a US agent codenamed "Alex" by post before later transmitting them by email and later directly entering them into hidden software on a computer provided by the CIA.
Stealing documents turned out to be surprisingly easy -- Reichel simply photocopied sensitive papers using a copier next to his desk, before driving out of the BND offices with the stack in his bag.
Random checks at the BND's gates were so seldom that there was hardly any risk he would be caught.
At home, he would scan the documents before sending them to "Alex".
In 2014, he itched to "experience something new" again and decided this time to offer his services to the Russian consulate in Munich.
But his email with three BND documents attached was uncovered by the German agency, and led to his arrest on July 2 that year.
Reichel's case emerged in the wake of revelations the United States has been carrying out widespread surveillance on global communications.
The information stemming from documents made public by Snowden strained ties between Washington and Germany, a key European ally, and led to the expulsion of the US spy chief in Berlin.
© 2016 AFP

Paris attacks

© AFP / by David Lory, Katherine Levy Spencer
PARIS (AFP) -  Four suspected jihadists were arrested Wednesday in the Paris region. A series of co-ordinated attacks claimed by the Islamic State group were carried out across Paris on Friday 13 November 2015 in the worst terrorist assault on France since WWII.
by David Lory, Katherine Levy Spencer
© 2016 AFP

Russia can ramp up military presence in Syria if needed: Putin

© Pool/AFP/File | Russian President Vladimir Putin this week ordered the surprise withdrawal of most of Russia's armed forces from Syria
MOSCOW (AFP) -  President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned that Russia could ramp up its military presence in Syria within "several hours" if needed, as he urged all sides of the conflict to respect a ceasefire.
"If there's a need, Russia literally within several hours can ramp up its presence in the region to the size required for the unfolding situation and use the whole arsenal of possibilities we have at our disposal," Putin said in the Kremlin.
"We would not want to do that, a military escalation is not our choice," he added as he decorated officers who served in the war-torn country.
"And that's why we put our hopes in the common sense of all parties, in the commitment to the peace process of both the Syrian authorities and the opposition."
Putin's warning came after the Russian strongman on Monday ordered the surprise withdrawal of most of Russia's armed forces from Syria, saying Moscow's task had been "on the whole" completed.
Speaking to the top military brass on Thursday, he said Moscow was not abandoning its ally Bashar al-Assad, pledging Russia's continuing military and other support to his regime and praising the Syrian leader.
"We see his restraint, his sincere desire to achieve peace, his readiness for compromise and dialogue," Putin said.
Putin said that Moscow would leave its advanced S-400 air defence system in Syria and warned that Russian forces would shoot down "any target" they considered a threat.
He said Russia had also helped boost Syria's air defences, adding he was certain that the "patriotic forces" fighting jihadists would score new battlefield triumphs in the near future.
He also extolled the Russian armed forces for their service in the Middle Eastern country.
"We have created conditions for the start of the peace process," he said.
"It is you -- the Russian soldiers -- who opened the path to peace."
More than 700 soldiers and officers from the Russian air forces, ground forces and navy, and other military officials, have been invited to take part in the ceremony, the Kremlin said.
Pro-Kremlin observers hailed the five-and-a-half-month aerial campaign in Syria which they said helped Putin break out of international isolation over Ukraine and assert Russia's interests in the Middle East.
© 2016 AFP

US jobless claims edge higher

© AFP/File | Job growth has been solid in the US economy, with 242,000 jobs added in February
WASHINGTON (AFP) -  More Americans filed new claims for US unemployment insurance benefits last week, but the trend remained historically low as the labor market improves, official data released Thursday showed.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, rose by 7,000 to 265,000 in the week ending March 12. The prior week's level was revised down by 1,000 to 258,000 claims.
The rise in new claims was a bit less than the 266,000 level expected by analysts.
The Labor Department pointed out that initial claims have been below 300,000 for 54 weeks running, the longest streak since 1973. It said there were no special factor's impacting the latest data.
The four-week moving average ticked higher by a scant 750 claims to 268,000. It was 305,250 a year ago.
Job growth has been solid in the US economy, with 242,000 jobs added in February as the unemployment rate held at 4.9 percent for the second straight month, the lowest since February 2008 at the beginning of the Great Recession.
"Layoffs are low, just one sign that the job market is tightening quickly and slack is diminishing," said Ryan Sweet of Moody's Analytics.
© 2016 AFP

Security forces re-enact role at scene of main Paris attack

© AFP | Police officers stand outside the Bataclan concert hall in Paris on March 17, 2016
PARIS (AFP) -  Security forces returned Thursday to the Bataclan concert hall in Paris where jihadist gunmen killed 90 people in November, to re-trace their steps for lawmakers probing the police's response.
The partial re-enactment was ordered by a parliamentary commission investigating the series of attacks on the French capital claimed by the Islamic State group, which left 130 dead and hundreds injured.
The elite BRI police are to show a delegation of lawmakers how they eventually stormed the venue and shot dead the four gunmen -- and why it took three hours from the start of the attack to the conclusion.
The exercise will not however involve actors playing the role of the gunmen.
"We asked the security forces who took part, the BRI, the Raid (another elite police unit), and the police to come. We are going to see how they acted, chronologically. And why it took three hours to get the last of the victims out," lawmaker Georges Fenech told reporters in front of the Bataclan.
"It will not be a re-enactment though, which is the job of criminal investigators," Fenech added.
Some of the relatives of the dead expressed anger that they had not been informed in advance of the partial re-enactment.
"We wake up one morning and discover that there is going to be a re-enactment. No-one told us. We have found out that there will not be any lawyers... no victims and no journalists involved," an emotional Nadine Ribet-Reinhart, whose 26-year-old son Valentin was killed in the Bataclan attack, said at the scene.
Fighting back the tears, she added: "We still don't know what time our children died. On the death certificate, it says 'between November 13 and November 14'. We don't know when the rescue services arrived. We need information to be able to understand what happened."
Fenech responded that the lawmakers' aim "is to shed as much light as possible on what happened.
"We are working for the sake of the victims."
The parliamentary committee is also investigating the French state's response to the jihadist attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in January last year.
It is due to publish its report on July 14.
© 2016 AFP