Iraq PM sacks commander after Green Zone breach

By Ismaeel Naar Al Arabiya English 

 Thursday, 5 May 2016

Iraq's prime minister has sacked the commander of special forces in Baghdad's Green Zone after protesters breached the fortified area over the past week, a military statement said late on Wednesday.

The removal of Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed Ridha is being seen as an indication of tightening security as authorities plan on taking a harder line against planned protesters over the weekend.

Iraqi analyst Taif Jany told Al Arabiya English that angry protesters, most of them supporters of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, broke into the Green Zone and stormed parliament on Saturday in an unprecedented security breach after years of frustration with the political elite.

“The fortifications reinforce a literal barrier between Parliament and the people. Not only is the government's business conducted without our input, but we are also cut off by razor wire, guards, and enormous concrete fences,” Jany, Program Manager at Education for Peace in Iraq Center, told Al Arabiya English.

Iraqi premier Haider al-Abadi issued commander Ridha’s relief order and replaced him with Maj. Gen. Karim Aboud al-Tamimi, according to a statement from Iraq's Joint Operations Command.

Warning signs

Ridha was seen kissing Sadr's hand when he entered the heavily fortified Green Zone in late March during a sit-in organized by the cleric, who has demanded the government carry out reforms.

Demonstrators are expected to protest on Friday and may attempt to re-enter the Green Zone, which is home to Iraq's main government institutions as well as various embassies, including those of the United States and Britain.

Angry protesters broke into the area after lawmakers again failed to approve new ministers proposed by Abadi.

Abadi has called for the current cabinet of party-affiliated ministers to be replaced by a government of technocrats. But his efforts have been opposed by powerful political parties that rely on control of ministries for patronage and funds.

Jany, the Iraqi analyst, told Al Arabiya English that the green zone has become a point of contention and the next couple of days are likely to see more protesters returning to the area.

“The Green Zone contains the homes of Members of Parliament and high-ranking officials and this represents a significant class difference which begs the question: how can you represent us if you don't live among us?,” he asked.

(With AFP)

Turkish premier quits as Erdogan tightens grip

Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 5 May 2016

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Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced his resignation on Thursday, paving the way for the country’s president to pursue a tighter grip on power.

Davutoglu, who had fallen out with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his long-standing ally, announced he was stepping aside following a meeting with executives of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, which has dominated Turkish politics since 2002. 

Erdogan was a co-founder and most prominent leader of the AKP, before stepping down when he became president in 2014.
The decision is not effective immediately. The party will hold an emergency convention May 22 to select a new party leader who would also replace the premier.

Despite the rift between him and President Erdogan, Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara that he bore his former boss no ill-will. 

“No one heard or will ever hear a single word from my mouth, from my tongue or my mind against our president,” he said, according to AFP.

Davutoglu indicated he did not plan to resign from the party, saying he would “continue the struggle” as a ruling party legislator. He also pledged loyalty to Erdogan, saying the president’s honor was his honor, and suggested he would not be a party to any efforts to divide the party.

“I feel no reproach, anger or resentment against anyone,” Davutoglu said.

The shake-up is seen as the outcome of irreconcilable differences between Erdogan, who would like to see the country transition to a presidential system, and his once-trusted adviser. It comes a day after Davutoglu’s government scored a victory of sorts, with the European Union’s executive commission recommending approval of a deal to give Turkish citizens the right to travel to Europe without visas.
After being elected president in 2014, Erdogan chose Davutoglu to succeed him as premier and leader of the AKP party. Davutoglu was expected to play a backseat role as Erdogan pushed ahead with plans to make the largely ceremonial presidency into an all-powerful position.

Uncertain bloc

But the former professor, foreign minister and adviser to Erdogan tried to act independently on a range issues and often proved to be a more moderating force to Erdogan, who has adopted an increasingly authoritarian style of government.

Crisis talks between the former political allies dragged out for nearly two hours late Wednesday but clearly failed to resolve their differences.

Meanwhile, the European Union is unsure how the departure of Turkey’s prime minister will affect the deal he struck with the EU to curb migration, the EU’s foreign affairs chief said on Thursday, as Brussels watched events in Ankara with unease.

“It’s a bit too early to define if it will have implications and in that case of what kind,” Federica Mogherini said during a visit to Kosovo, Reuters reported.

“We will obviously discuss this [Davutoglu's resignation] first of all with the Turkish authorities and define together how to move forward.”
 

(With the Associated Press, AFP and Reuters)

Yazidi women leave behind lives, family to fight ISIS

Ahmed Jadallah with Emily Wither , Reuters Thursday, 5 May 2016

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When ISIS swept into the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar in 2014, a few young Yazidi women took up arms against the militants attacking women and girls from their community.
“They took eight of my neighbors and I saw they were killing the children,” Asema Dahir told Reuters last month at a checkpoint near a front line north of Mosul.

 

Dressed in military fatigues, the 21-year-old is now part of an all-female unit in the Kurdish peshmerga forces, which have played an important role in pushing back ISIS in northern Iraq.
The killing and enslaving of thousands from Iraq’s minority Yazidi community focused international attention on the group’s violent campaign to impose its radical ideology and prompted Washington to launch an air offensive.

 

It also prompted the formation of this unusual 30-woman unit made up of Yazidis as well as Kurds from Iraq and neighboring Syria. For them, only one thing matters: revenge for the women raped, beaten and executed by the militants.
Dahir said she was stunned by the brutality of the militants, some of whom were neighbors and others from outside the area.
“They killed my uncle and took my cousin’s wife who had only just married eight days earlier,” she said, her piercing eyes clouding over. The bride, like thousands of other Yazidi women, is still being held by the militants.

During the firefights that raged across Sinjar in 2014, Dahir said she killed two ISIS fighters before being shot in the leg. Reuters could not independently verify the fighters’ personal accounts.
Well-worn photographs of children and families tucked into the edge of mirrors or pressed onto walls in the women’s spartan barracks are reminders of what they have sacrificed to join the fight.
Haseba Nauzad, the unit’s 24-year-old commander, lost her marriage. She was living with her husband in Turkey when ISIS swept through northern Iraq and announced its so-called caliphate over areas that included traditional Kurdish lands.

“I saw them raping my Kurdish sisters and I couldn’t accept this injustice,” Nauzad said.

Her husband wanted to pay human smugglers to take them to Europe along with more than a million others fleeing conflict in the region, but she insisted on going home to fight the Islamists.
“I put my personal life aside, and I came to defend my Kurdish sisters and mothers and stand against this enemy,” she said. She has lost contact with her husband since he arrived in Germany.
In a conservative society where women are often expected to stay at home, these women say gender does not keep them from entering battle.
“If a man can carry a weapon, a woman can do the same,” said Nauzad. “The men are inspired to fight harder when they see women standing in the same battlefield as them.”
The women in the unit are convinced ISIS militants are scared of women fighters “because they think if they are killed by a woman, they will not go to heaven,” said Nauzad.
“This story encourages more women to join the fight.”

ISIS militants seize gas field in eastern Syria

Reuters, Amman Thursday, 5 May 2016

ISIS militants on Thursday captured the main Shaer gas field in eastern Syria in the first gain for the ultra hardline fighters in the Palmyra desert area since they lost the ancient city in March, rebel sources and a monitor said.

Amaq, a news agency affiliated to the militants, said they had taken over the gas field area and its facility where Syrian troops were stationed and killed at least 30 soldiers and gained large caches of heavy weapons including tanks and missiles.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the militants seizure of the gas field area that lies roughly 150 km northwest of Palmyra after a three-day assault. The militants were able to seize the area despite heavy aerial bombing to push them back, it said.

The militants had captured the gas field and nearby gas facilities in Homs province on several occasions but had lost it late in 2014 although they continued to attack government forces stationed in the area.

In first, civic campaign vies for power in Beirut vote

BEIRUT (AFP) - 

Armed with a 10-point platform and a shot of ambition, an unlikely alliance of Lebanese citizens will for the first time take on Beirut's powerful political class in Sunday's municipal elections.

Beirut Madinati -- Arabic for "Beirut is my city" -- is a civic campaign of 24 candidates, equally split between men and women, and Muslims and Christians.

And they aren't backed by politicians, which makes them a breath of fresh air for many voters in a country as divided as Lebanon.

"We don't have a lot of political experience as Beirut Madinati, but we've been able to win people's hearts because we're independent," says Ibrahim Mneimneh, an architect by trade and the campaign's leading candidate.

"When election day comes, we'll be ready to win," Mneimneh says, hoping to capture the majority of the 470,000 registered Beirut voters, although the city's actual residents are estimated to be four times as many.

Municipal elections in Lebanon take place every six years, with political parties often forming joint candidate lists.

Sunday's vote is the first of any kind in Lebanon since the last municipal elections in 2010.

A parliamentary vote in 2013 was cancelled when its members controversially extended their own mandate.

Since the end of its brutal civil war in 1990, Lebanon's political scene has been dominated by a handful of parties often formed along sectarian lines and led by former warlords.

Beirut Madinati will face the formidable challenge of breaking through that entrenched political class in a bid to win all 24 seats in the Lebanese capital's municipal council.

- 'Never thought it's impossible' -

The campaign was founded in 2015 shortly after a dispute that closed Lebanon's largest trash dump and sparked protests to demand not only an end to the growing piles of waste, but an overhaul of paralysed government institutions.

Beirut Madinati seized on that frustration to put together a 10-point platform -- the campaign's magnum opus and a rallying call for young voters.

It includes plans to improve public transport in the notoriously traffic-ridden city, introduce more green spaces, make housing affordable and, of course, implement a lasting waste management solution.

The platform was developed by consulting residents of Beirut through open-houses and neighbourhood visits, and "is centred around the daily life of the person, the citizen," says soft-spoken candidate Rana Khoury.

Khoury is the step-daughter of slain Lebanese journalist Samir Kassir and one of the core founders of Beirut Madinati.

"We began this campaign in September, because we felt that it was no longer possible for us to demand change from the people in power," she tells AFP in the campaign headquarters in the edgy Badaro neighbourhood.

"We never thought it was impossible, because the whole time we were thinking that it was necessary, that there is no other choice."

Once the platform was ready, Beirut Madinati put together its candidate list, including celebrated Lebanese director Nadine Labaki and the head of the country's fishermen cooperative, Najib al-Deek.

- 'Today, there's a choice' -

Beirut Madinati has been infectious, garnering thousands of views on videos it posted on Facebook in lieu of plastering traditional candidate portraits on the walls of Beirut.

But the movement still has to face off this Sunday against other electoral lists, chiefly the seasoned politicians who have formed a super-list of candidates.

The "Byerteh List" -- or Beirutis' List -- includes well-known figures agreed upon by all of Lebanon's political parties and is backed by leading Sunni politician and former prime minister Saad Hariri.

"The biggest challenge we are facing is our rival. We are facing a regime, a regime that has been in power for 40 years -- and we're outsiders," says Beirut Madinati electoral strategist Rayan Ismail.

Indeed, for decades, Lebanon's political class has cultivated a strong grassroots presence through clientelism, particularly in lower-income neighbourhoods.

Manned by a group of activists and intellectuals without the political cunning of their rivals, Beirut Madinati has struggled to build up similar support there.

One former Beirut Madinati volunteer said candidates were "naive" in thinking a well-developed platform without backing from working-class neighbourhoods would be enough to win.

"We're not in la-la land. We're in Lebanon," he says.

Beirut Madinati is also up against a disillusioned electorate, many of whom believe that a change from the entrenched clientelism and corruption of Lebanese politics is simply impossible.

"I won't vote for anyone -- not even my brother who's a candidate... They're all liars," says Beirut resident Issam Ghlayen.

Still, Khoury says that hasn't stopped her.

"There were a lot of people for a while who were saying that the same people will be re-elected, and that nothing will change in Lebanon," she explains.

"Maybe that was true when there was no choice. Today, there is a choice. There's Beirut Madinati. And we can vote for it."

by Maya Gebeily

© 2016 AFP

EU leaders in Rome to discuss migrant crisis

ROME (AFP) - 

EU president Donald Tusk travels to Rome Thursday with fellow EU institution leaders and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for two days of talks likely to focus on next steps in Europe's migrant crisis.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who fears Italy becoming the new migrant frontline after the closure of the Balkan route, will host the first day of talks, followed by Pope Francis on Friday.

As the EU braces for more turbulence notably with next month's "Brexit" referendum in Britain as well as renewed Greek debt talks, Italy is keen to keep the focus on forging a joint plan over migrants.

Renzi will start by meeting Merkel from 2 pm (1200 GMT), followed by talks with European Commission leader Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Council president Tusk and European Parliament chief Martin Schulz.

From 6:30 pm (1630 GMT) they will hold a conference on the future of the EU, which will take place in the same room in the Capitole where the 1957 Rome Treaty was signed, founding the body that developed into today's 28-nation EU.

With over 28,500 migrants arrived since January 1, Italy has once again become the principal entry via the Mediterranean, after the controversial EU-Turkey deal and the closure of the Balkan route north.

Rome fears that, unlike previously, Italy will be left hosting masses of new arrivals if, for example, Austria mounts stricter controls at the Brenner pass linking Italy through the Alps to northern Europe.

Threats to the Schengen Treaty on free movement sparked by the migrant crisis were described by Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan as "more dangerous than the euro crisis a few years ago".

UN refugee agency spokeswoman in Italy, Carlotta Sami, on Wednesday welcomed the "movement from an emergency approach to a structured approach, making plans and reflecting on (the) integration" of migrants into countries where they arrive.

After Renzi on Thursday, Pope Francis will meet Merkel and the three EU institution leaders on Friday, before making a speech as he is given the EU's Charlemagne prize, which each year honours "an exceptional contribution to European unification."

The Pope, who usually refuses prizes, explained in February that he accepted this one in order to appeal for a "refounding" of the European bloc. In November 2014 he called at the European Parliament for Europe to become a "reference point for humanity."

© 2016 AFP

Australia says top IS recruiter killed in US air strike

SYDNEY (AFP) - 

Australia's most wanted Islamic State terror suspect, linked to several attacks on home soil, has been killed in a US air strike in Iraq, Canberra said on Thursday, warning others will be targeted.

The death of Neil Prakash is considered significant by Australian and US authorities because of his highly prominent and influential role as a senior recruiter for the jihadist group.

Attorney General George Brandis called him "the most dangerous Australian involved with ISIL in the Middle East", using an acronym for the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

He said Washington had told Canberra that Prakash died in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29 after Australia provided intelligence on his identity and location.

"Neil Prakash was a prominent ISIL member and a senior terrorist recruiter and attack facilitator," he said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Marise Payne.

"Prakash has been linked to several Australia-based attack plans and calls for lone-wolf attacks against the United States. He is considered to be Australia's most prominent ISIL recruiter."

Since the start of their campaign, the US military and its coalition partners have launched more than 12,000 air strikes against Islamic State and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said more Australians were in their sights.

"Australians who think they can go to Syria and Iraq and fight with Daesh have to recognise that they will be targeted," he told Sky News, referring to IS by another acronym.

"They are waging war against Australia and they are enemies of Australia once they choose to wage that war in those theatres."

- Home-grown extremists -

US authorities also told the government that Australian woman Shadi Jabar Khalil Mohammad was killed in an air strike near the Syrian city of Al-Bab on April 22, along with her Sudanese husband.

"Mohammad and her husband, Abu Sa'ad al-Sudani, were both active recruiters of foreign fighters on behalf of ISIL, and had been inspiring attacks against Western interests," said Brandis.

She was the sister of Farhad Jabar, a 15-year-old who shot dead police employee Curtis Cheng in Sydney last October. The teenager was killed in gunfire shortly afterwards.

Prakash, who left Australia in 2013 and was known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, was linked to an alleged terror plot on Anzac Day last year, when Australia honours its war dead.

He has also appeared in IS propaganda videos, including one last year calling for attacks on Australia.

"His death disrupts and degrades ISIL's ability to recruit vulnerable people in our community to conduct terrorist acts," added Brandis, who said that between 50 and 59 Australians had so far been killed fighting for jihadists in Iraq or Syria.

At least 110 more are still battling with Islamic State.

Australia has long been concerned about home-grown extremism and raised the terror threat alert level to high in September 2014.

At least six attacks have been foiled on Australian soil over the past 18 months, according to the government. But several have taken place, including the terror-linked murder of Cheng.

© 2016 AFP

North Korea readies for party congress, nuclear test fears persist

SEOUL (AFP) - 

North Korea readied on Thursday to kick off its most important ruling party gathering for nearly 40 years, amid persistent concerns of a nuclear test, despite no clear signs of an imminent detonation.

Leader Kim Jong-Un is expected to deliver a keynote address at the opening of Friday's party congress which will be minutely scrutinised for suggestions of a significant policy shift or personnel changes in the nuclear-armed nation's governing elite.

The 33-year-old Kim wasn't even born when the last congress was held in 1980 to crown his father, Kim Jong-Il, as the heir apparent to his grandfather and the North's founding leader Kim Il-Sung.

While the agenda -- and even the duration -- of the event is still unknown, it's main objective is widely seen as cementing Kim Jong-Un's status as supreme leader and legitimate inheritor of the Kim family's dynastic rule.

The congress is also expected to confirm, as party doctrine, Kim's "byungjin" policy of pursuing nuclear weapons in tandem with economic development.

- Nuclear drive -

Since Kim took power after the death of his father in late 2011, North Korea has carried out two nuclear tests and two successful space rocket launches that were widely seen as disguised ballistic missile tests.

Even as the international community responded with condemnation and sanctions, Kim kept the throttle opened up on the North's single-minded drive towards a credible nuclear deterrent with additional missile and technical tests.

There has been widespread speculation that the congress would be preceded by another nuclear test in a gesture of strength and defiance that would allow Kim to claim genuine nuclear power status in his speech.

In an analysis of the most recent satellite pictures of the North's main nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University on Thursday said there was no clear evidence, one way or the other, of whether an underground detonation was imminent.

The images dated May 2 showed only a "very low level of activity," the institute said on its closely followed 38North website.

- Test 'unclear' -

"Whether the level of activity indicates that Pyongyang has made all necessary preparations to conduct a nuclear test on short notice at this site or is associated with normal maintenance work remains unclear," it added.

South Korean government officials believe the North is ready to conduct a test as soon as the order is given, and say a decision might have been taken to test during the congress, which the world's media have been invited to Pyongyang to cover.

Officials in Seoul say they expect the congress to last four days, with the opening day devoted to Kim's speech and a lengthy report on the party's achievements.

The congress will also elect a new central committee, which in turn selects the party politburo.

Some analysts are predicting significant personnel changes, as Kim brings in a new, younger generation of leaders, picked for their loyalty to him.

© 2016 AFP

Albania and Kosovo: a 'new front' for jihadists

TIRANA (AFP) - 

Three years ago, Albert and Yassin left their homes in Kosovo and Albania to wage jihad in Syria. Now they're back, swelling the ranks of jihadists in a region the Islamic State has called a "new front" in Europe.

Yassin, 30, who now works as a halal butcher in a downtrodden suburb of Albania's capital Tirana, refused to give his real name out of fear of repercussions.

Wounded in Syria's battered northern city of Aleppo in 2014, the father-of-three told AFP he left "to help the Syrian people" and hopes Allah will recognise his sacrifice, even if he did not die a martyr.

Albert Berisha, a 29-year-old political science graduate, says he took an "emotional decision" to leave for the Middle East "after seeing on TV and social media what was happening in Syria."

Berisha has not escaped the attention of the authorities however: Last month, he was sentenced to three and a half years behind bars.

Authorities say around 300 Kosovans and up to 120 Albanians have left to wage jihad in Syria -- placing them among the most affected per capita by the jihadist phenomenon.

Around 30 combatants have returned to Albania and 120 to Kosovo, according to government estimates.

Albanian religious affairs analyst Ermir Gjinishi warned that "if we do not integrate them back into society, if we marginalise them, former combatants returning to the country could ... be provoked into extreme actions."

An Islamic State propaganda video last year entitled "Honor is in Jihad: a message to the people of the Balkans" described the region as a "new front" for jihad in Europe.

"Black days are coming to you," a Kosovan fighter warns the governments of Kosovo, Albania, and Macedonia.

"You will be terrorised."

- 'Internet brainwashing' -

Muslims in Kosovo and Albania have historically been liberal but on the streets of Pristina, women in full veils and bearded men with trousers cropped at the ankles hint at a latent radicalisation.

Ilir Kulla, former head of Albania's "State Committee of Cults", said would-be jihadist recruiters find their job made easier by "the economic situation, a (low) level of education and Internet brainwashing."

According to World Bank figures, the average monthly wage in Kosovo is a measly $330 (290 euros), slightly higher in Albania at $370.

And while money is not the main driving force behind the departures for Syria, an Albanian police officer said a fighter in an IS unit would earn more than double that and $2,000 as a commander.

Visar Duriqi, a Kosovo-based expert in religion, noted: "Kosovo was economically devastated in the war and its economic recovery is still slow, which is creating many social problems."

The authorities in the region are fighting back and claiming some success.

"No Kosovan has joined a terrorist group in the past six months," said president Hashim Thaci, who told AFP in February he had himself received death threats from Islamic State.

Albania's deputy interior minister Elona Gjebrea said "no Albanian had left the country" for Syria since 2014.

In both places, authorities have clamped down on returning jihadists and those who recruit them, with an increasing number of arrests and trials.

On Tuesday, Albania jailed nine men for up to 18 years for financing and recruiting fighters -- the first trial of its kind.

As the verdicts were handed down, the defendents shouted "Allahu Akbar (God is greatest). Traitors. Our time will come. You will be punished."

- 'Demagogues, charlatans, manipulators' -

The prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has introduced religious education in schools to fight against ignorance and what he called "demagogues, charlatans and manipulators."

One of those people Rama is targeting is Almir Daci, an Iman who ran a network responsible for sending 70 people -- including women and children -- to Syria.

The 34-year-old helped to transform Leshnice, Remenj and Zagorcan -- villages near the Macedonian border where churches stand side-by-side with mosques -- into a hotbed of jihadist recruitment.

Daci, alias Abu Bakr al-Albani, worked as the Iman in a neighbouring village of Pogradec, and was one of the Islamic State group's main recruiters in Albania.

His relatives received news from Syria that he had died last month but, as is often the case, there was no way of independently confirming this.

Hurma Alinji, 59, a neighbour of the Daci family, accuses Daci of being responsible for the death of her son, who died in Syria in 2014 aged 28.

"I blame Daci. He's the only one responsible. He pushed my son Ervis to leave," she said.

Ervis worked in Greece but his family noticed radical changes in his behaviour after he began frequenting Daci's mosque.

Before he would happily watch his father swill raki but suddenly "refused to eat the meat" bought from the village and "cut the bottoms off his new trousers."

One evening in February 2013, he said his "brothers needed help."

And left to die in Syria, like around 70 Albanians and Kosovans.

by Briseida Mema and Ismet Hadjari

© 2016 AFP

Twin bombings 'kill 10 civilians in central Syria'

BEIRUT (AFP) - 

A double bomb attack on Thursday in central Syria killed at least 10 civilians and wounded 40 others, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

State television also reported dead and wounded in the suicide attack and car bombing in a square in Mukharram al-Fawqani in Homs province.

© 2016 AFP

Australia appoints new central bank governor

SYDNEY (AFP) - 

Australia named its next central bank governor Thursday, with Philip Lowe promoted to the top job from deputy to replace Glenn Stevens in a widely-tipped move.

The announcement came in the week the Reserve Bank of Australia slashed interest rates to a new record-low of 1.75 percent to boost the economy as it charts a rocky path away from mining dependence after an unprecedented resources investment boom.

Stevens, who has been at the helm for a decade and whose term ends on September 18, has helped steer the nation through the global financial crisis and is highly regarded at home and globally.

Treasurer Scott Morrison thanked him for his service and said Lowe's appointment would "reinforce existing confidence in the institution".

"The market will be entirely comfortable with the appointment," National Australia Bank senior economist David de Garis told AFP.

"The market has been very happy with stewardship of the Reserve Bank under Glenn Stevens and I think Phil Lowe is a highly intelligent, street-smart policy official who will continue to be very well-received by the market."

Lowe has worked at the RBA for three decades and been deputy governor since 2012.

A new deputy governor will announced later this year.

© 2016 AFP

UK daily newspaper 'New Day' folds after just 10 weeks

LONDON (UNITED KINGDOM) (AFP) - 

Britain's first new national daily newspaper in 30 years is to shut, its owners said Thursday, just over two months after it was launched promising to prove that print news can survive the Internet age.

Trinity Mirror group said it was "disappointing" that the New Day would print its last edition on Friday -- just weeks after its launch on February 29 -- but circulation had fallen "below our expectations".

"We have tried everything we could but sadly we just haven't reached the sales figures we needed to make it work financially," editor Alison Phillips wrote in a message to staff.

"There clearly were many people who truly loved the idea of a different kind of newspaper which spoke to them. But the reality was we didn't have enough of them on a daily basis."

The daily's launch had been a bold move in a climate of declining newspaper sales and falling advertising revenue, and came after The Independent daily and the Independent on Sunday moved online.

It promised something different from the usual newspaper fare, with upbeat content free from political bias, aimed at 35- to 55-year-olds and especially women.

It had a target of selling 200,000 copies a day, but reports suggest sales fell to about 40,000.

Trinity Mirror, which publishes more than 150 newspaper titles across Britain and Ireland including the Daily Mirror tabloid, as well as more than 100 websites, said the project had provided "new insights".

"Although The New Day has received many supportive reviews and built a strong following on Facebook, the circulation for the title is below our expectations," it said.

"As a result, we have decided to close the title on 6 May 2016.

"Whilst disappointing, the launch and subsequent closure have provided new insights into enhancing our newspapers and a number of these opportunities will be considered over time."

© 2016 AFP

Aleppo residents emerge as truce takes hold in Syrian city

ALEPPO (SYRIA) (AFP) - 

A 48-hour ceasefire took hold Thursday in Syria's battered second city of Aleppo as fighting subsided and relieved residents returned to the streets.

The Syrian army said late on Wednesday that it had agreed to calls from Russia and the United States for a two-day truce in Aleppo that would begin from 1:00 am on Thursday.

Renewed fighting in and around Aleppo in recent days had threatened the full collapse of a landmark ceasefire agreed between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and non-jihadist rebels in late February.

More than 280 civilians were reported killed since April 22 in the fighting in divided Aleppo, with regime air strikes pounding the opposition-held east while rebels fired a barrage of rockets into the government-controlled west.

Early on Thursday, an AFP correspondent in the city said there had been no signs of fresh air raids since the ceasefire took effect.

As residents emerged, shopkeepers were reopening their doors while fruit and vegetable markets -- one of which was struck in an April 24 raid that left 12 dead -- were again up and running.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, confirmed there had been no bombing in the city, though it said a civilian had died in a western district from rebel shelling that came minutes after the ceasefire took effect.

The head of the powerful Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) rebel force in Aleppo, Ahmad Sanada, told AFP the group would respect the ceasefire.

"We are in favour of any initiative that relieves the suffering of civilians and avoids bloodshed and we will respect" the ceasefire, he told AFP.

© 2016 AFP

Turkish lira hammered as political turmoil rattles investors

ISTANBUL (AFP) - 

The Turkish lira remained under pressure Thursday as political uncertainty rattled investors after it emerged Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is set to step down in a move giving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even more power.

The lira lost almost 4 percent in value against the dollar on Wednesday -- its heaviest daily loss this year -- as news broke that crisis talks between Davutoglu and Erdogan had failed to resolve tensions between the two men.

After that hammering, the lira rallied slightly Thursday to trade at 2.91 to the dollar, a gain of 1.35 percent, but still still well off its 2.85 level against the dollar before the news broke.

"Politics has once again emerged as a major risk for the lira, which is likely to remain vulnerable in the coming days," analysts at Rabobank said in a note to clients.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is now set to hold an extraordinary congress where Davutoglu is expected to surrender his twin jobs of party chairman and prime minister.

The equity also took the news badly, with participants fearing the development was a move by Erdogan to tighten his grip on all areas of policy, including the economy.

The Istanbul stock market's benchmark 100 Index lost 1.40 percent to trade at 78,274 points.

Rabobank said Davutoglu had been perceived by markets as being "far more moderate" than Erdogan. "If Davutoglu indeed resigns, it will be a major blow for the lira and Turkish assets," it added.

Erdogan's reputation as a safe pair of hands on the economy was harmed last year when he piled pressure on the nominally independent central bank to cut interest rates for the sake of growth at a time of high inflation.

"The political uncertainty means that we're likely to see further falls in Turkish asset prices in the near term," said William Jackson, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London.

© 2016 AFP

Clinton may be required to testify on emails: US judge

WASHINGTON (AFP) - 

A federal judge has said Hillary Clinton may be required to testify about her private email system while secretary of state as part of a freedom of information act lawsuit brought by a conservative watchdog group.

It was the latest twist in a long-running email saga that continues to dog Clinton as she runs for president as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Judge Emmet Sullivan on Wednesday gave the go ahead for Judicial Watch to take testimony from several of Clinton's close aides when she was secretary of state.

"Based on information learned during discovery, the deposition of Mrs Clinton may be necessary," Sullivan said in an order granting Judicial Watch discovery.

The order authorizes depositions of seven former State Department officials about the private email system Clinton used for much of her electronic correspondence while secretary of state.

They include Cheryl Mills, who was Clinton's chief of staff at the State Department; Huma Abedin, her former deputy chief of staff; and Bryan Pagliano, the State Department employee who reportedly set up the email system.

Clinton's use of a private server for both official and private correspondence first came to light in 2015 during Republican-led congressional investigations into her handling of a militant attack on the US mission in Bengazi, Libya.

The assault in 2012 left the US ambassador and three other Americans dead.

The FBI has since launched a criminal investigation amid Republican charges that use of the unsecured system endangered national security.

Judicial Watch's tie-in to the controversy is a freedom of information act it had filed in 2013 seeking information about Abedin's employment by the State Department under a special status that allowed her to work for others outside the department while serving as Clinton's adviser.

It dropped the suit a year later after receiving assurances from the State Department that it had searched for the requested records.

But after learning of Clinton's private email server, Judicial Watch reopened the suit, alleging that the State Department had not acted in good faith because its records search did not include the secretary's emails.

© 2016 AFP

Israel launches airstrikes on four Hamas targets in Gaza

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2016-05-05

The Israeli military launched airstrikes early Thursday on four Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response to mortar rounds fired at Israel, the military said.

In a statement, the military said it hit "terrorist infrastructure sites" early Thursday belonging to Hamas, the Islamic militant group which rules Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry said three children and a 65-year-old Palestinian suffered light-to-moderate injuries in an airstrike that hit a metal workshop in Gaza City.

Workshop owner Hassan Hassanin said his well-digging truck, which he said was only one in Gaza that can reach a depth of 37 meters, was hit.

"Why this was bombed? I don't know why. I don't pose any threat to Israel's security. Israel itself knows this machine, what does it do and what its capabilities are. It doesn't pose any danger to security," he said.

Palestinian media said an Islamic Jihad militant group outpost was also targeted.

Israel struck five other Hamas targets Wednesday, responding to a mortar shell launched toward Israeli forces near the Gaza Strip. The army said no soldiers were harmed. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner called it the "most serious" escalation since the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. More than 2,200 Palestinians, about two-thirds of them civilians, were killed in the 50-day summer war. On the Israeli side, 66 soldiers and seven civilians were killed.

Last month, Israel discovered and destroyed a tunnel dug from Gaza into Israel - the first to be found since the 2014 war. That discovery sparked concerns in Israel that Hamas was rebuilding its underground tunnel network in preparation for another conflagration. In 2014, Israel destroyed more than 30 tunnels Hamas had dug under the border.

Israel and Hamas have largely observed a cease-fire since the 2014 war, but other militant groups also operate in Gaza. Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for any attacks out of the territory.

The escalation comes amid a months-long wave of violence that has seen near-daily attacks by Palestinians, mostly stabbings, which have killed 28 Israelis and two Americans. Some 193 Palestinians have been killed, most said by Israel to have been attackers and the rest killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

(AP)

Kasich drops campaign bid, leaving Trump with no Republican rivals

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2016-05-05

Donald Trump’s last Republican foe, Ohio Governor John Kasich, ended his presidential campaign on Wednesday, cementing Trump’s remarkable triumph as his party’s presumptive nominee.

Trump’s victory spurred some reluctant Republicans to rally around him, though others agonised over their party’s future.

Trump vowed to unite the splintered GOP, even as he was bitingly dismissive of members who have been critical of his campaign.

“Those people can go away and maybe come back in eight years after we served two terms,” he said on NBC’s “Today” Show. “Honestly, there are some people I really don’t want.”

Clinton, in her first remarks since Trump’s new status was crystalised, said she was more than prepared to handle the kind of deeply personal attacks that helped defeat Trump’s Republican rivals.

“To me, this is the classic case of a blustering, bullying guy,” Clinton told CNN.

The long and chaotic Republican primary came to an abrupt end after Trump’s decisive victory Tuesday in Indiana. His win pushed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, his closest rival, out of the race, with Kasich following a day later.

Trump’s takeover of the GOP marks one of the most stunning political feats in modern political history.

A first-time candidate, he eschewed traditional fundraising and relied more on his own star power than television advertising to draw attention.

He also flouted political decorum with controversial statements about women and minorities, leaving some Republicans convinced he can’t cobble together the diverse coalition needed to win the general election.

“It’s his party between now and November, but I don’t think it’s going to be his party after November,” said Peter Wehner, a former adviser to President George W. Bush. Wehner is among the Republicans vowing to never vote for Trump, even if that means essentially handing Clinton the presidency.

Bob Vander Plaats, an influential evangelical leader who backed Cruz, withheld his support for Trump Wednesday, saying the real estate mogul needs to prove his conservative credentials with his vice presidential pick and more information about what kind of judges he would appoint. “It’s kind of a wait and see moment with Mr. Trump,” he said.

Vander Plaats is among the Republicans clinging to the hope that an alternative option might yet emerge.

Operatives have floated former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse and former Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn as possible candidates for a third party or independent bid. But that path is a long-shot at best, with filing deadlines for getting on state ballots fast approaching.

There was notable silence from major Republican leaders Wednesday. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not comment on Trump. Spokespeople for Bush and Mitt Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee, also did not respond to inquiries.

Still, several GOP governors and senators said Wednesday that they would support Trump, according to a survey by The Associated Press.

“Our first and foremost goal is to elect a conservative, pro-business, strong on national defense, a man who will stand behind our freedoms and our rights, and that person is Donald Trump,”

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said. “It is not Hillary Clinton.”

Clinton has yet to shake Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the democratic socialist who has energised young people and liberals with his calls for sweeping government-run health care and education programs.

Still, Clinton has 93 percent of the delegates she needs to clinch the Democratic nomination and now is focusing the bulk of her attention on Trump.

“He is a loose cannon and loose cannons tend to misfire,” Clinton said Wednesday. Her campaign also released a web ad featuring clips of prominent Republicans, including his former rivals, bashing Trump.

Both Clinton and Trump head into the general election with historically high unfavorable ratings. But Clinton is generally popular within her own party, particularly with women and minority voters who are crucial to winning general election battleground states like Florida, Colorado and Nevada.

Some Republicans fear Trump’s poor standing with those voters will not only cost the party the White House for a third straight term but the GOP’s Senate majority as well.

Some Republican senators in tough races struggled Wednesday to position themselves in a party with Trump at the helm, including New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte who said that while she would support the businessman in a general election, she would not endorse his candidacy.

Trump turned quickly toward the general election, saying he would begin accepting more political donations and was starting to vet potential running mates. He told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he was inclined to “go the political route” and pick someone with legislative experience.

He later said he could consider Kasich, predicting the Ohio governor would be helpful this fall in any role given his state’s significance in the general election.

Though armed with an extensive resume in politics, Kasich struggled to connect with Republican primary voters in a year dominated by anti-establishment frustration.

He was a more moderate candidate who embraced elements of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul and called for an optimistic and proactive Republican agenda.

(AP)

US, Russia win temporary truce from Syrian army in Aleppo

Text by FRANCE 24

Latest update : 2016-05-05

Under pressure from Russia and the United States, the Syrian army agreed on Wednesday to respect a two-day truce in the war-ravaged city of Aleppo.

The Syrian climb-down came after Washington said the US and Russia had agreed to push the warring parties to extend their shaky ceasefire.

"A truce will be in place in Aleppo for 48 hours from 1:00 am on Thursday [2200 GMT Wednesday]," Syrian army command said, according to state media.

The Russian defence ministry said its ceasefire monitors had agreed with their US counterparts to oversee this truce until midnight on May 6.

But on the ground, reporters said fierce fighting continued in both Aleppo and an area west of Damascus that was already under the ceasefire regime.

"We've seen an overall decrease in violence in those areas even though there are some reports of continued fighting in some locations," said US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Kerry added that US officials in Geneva were coordinating with their Russian colleagues on "enhanced monitoring efforts for this renewed cessation."

And he stressed that for Washington, the "cessation of hostilities" must spread nationwide and underpin a return by both sides to peace talks in Geneva.

Aleppo, Syria’s most populous city, is divided between Bashar al-Assad's government forces, Western-backed opposition forces and the al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.

The cessation of hostilities, as diplomats call it, doesn't apply to the Islamic State (IS) group or the Nusra Front, which has caused problems in places such as Aleppo and provided the Syrian government a green light to go ahead with its military operations targeting rebel groups.

Mutliplying talks

Wednesday saw multiple new diplomatic efforts to stem the violence in Aleppo that has killed nearly 300 people in the last 13 days and all but unravelled the fragile ceasefure agreed to in February.

Talks on Syria shifted from Geneva to Berlin earlier Wednesday, where German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier held talks with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, Syria's main opposition leader Riad Hijab and France's top diplomat Jean-Marc Ayrault. The UN Security Council was also set to meet on the crisis later in the day.

France also announced plans to invite ministers from countries who support Syrian opposition groups to a meeting in Paris on May 9 to seek ways to break the political and military deadlock in the country.

“We are fighting [to ensure] the ceasefire returns straight away… I am going to invite like-minded countries to meet in Paris on Monday for a strong initiative to end the deadly bombings, so that humanitarian aid can arrive effectively and that we can once again open the way to a political solution,” French foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.

Ayrault did not specify which countries France would invite, though government spokesman Stephane Le Foll earlier mentioned inviting officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

Other countries supporting non-jihadi opposition groups battling Assad’s forces include the United States, Turkey and other European powers. They have all called on Assad to step down.

Humanitarian crisis

The first major ceasefire in Syria’s five-year civil war, sponsored by the United States and Russia, had held since February but has virtually collapsed in recent weeks, with the city of Aleppo bearing the brunt of the renewed violence. Aleppo’s humanitarian situation has become increasingly dire, and UN humanitarian advisor Jan Egeland said Wednesday that Syria’s government is refusing UN appeals to deliver aid to 905,000 people including those in Aleppo.

“It is a disgrace to see that while the population of Aleppo is bleeding, their options to flee have never been more difficult than now,” Egeland said.

The humanitarian task force chaired by Egeland enjoyed some success in opening up access for aid in April, but progress has stalled and requests to the Syrian government to greenlight aid convoys to six remaining besieged areas in May have largely fallen on deaf ears.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)

Turkey to hold congress as Davotuglu’s fate hangs in balance

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2016-05-05

Turkey's ruling party is set to replace Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at an extraordinary congress in the coming weeks, officials said on Wednesday, plunging the country into political uncertainty.

The decision, confirmed to Reuters by five AK Party officials, came after a meeting of more than 1-1/2 hours between Davutoglu and President Tayyip Erdogan that followed weeks of increasingly public tension between the two men.

Erdogan wants an executive presidency in Turkey to replace the current parliamentary system, a plan for which Davutoglu has offered only lukewarm support. His departure is likely to pave the way for a successor more willing to back Erdogan's ambition of changing the constitution and strengthening the presidency, a move opponents say will herald growing authoritarianism.

"The president and prime minister reached agreement on the congress ... I don't think Davutoglu will be a candidate again," one of the officials told Reuters.

The leader of the AKP, which has governed Turkey since 2002, also serves as prime minister. Davutoglu's likely departure looms as Turkey faces mounting security challenges, with a Kurdish insurgency in its southeast and the spillover of the war in Syria on its southern border.

The European Union is counting on Turkey to help stop migrants streaming into the continent under a landmark accord brokered by Davutoglu, and Washington is drawing on NATO member Ankara's support in fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

The lira weakened more than 4 percent to 2.976 to the dollar, its weakest since the end of February, as investors balked at the prospect of more uncertainty.

"Davutoglu's likely early exit as party leader and PM constitutes another episode that show that Erdogan's dominance over the AKP and the executive is absolute and unchallenged," said Wolfango Piccoli, head of research at Teneo Intelligence.

"In the short term policy paralysis will prevail and then, once a new party leader is elected, a more incisive effort to amend the constitution could ensue," he told Reuters.

The AKP official said the congress would be held as soon as May 21 and no later than June 6, the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and that Erdogan was adamant there should be no vacuum of power at the head of government.

Three sources close to the presidency said possible successors included government spokesman Numan Kurtulmus and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag. Transport Minister Binali Yildirim and Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, Erdogan's son-in-law, had also been touted as possible names, they said.

Rift

Erdogan's drive to tighten his grip on power has caused an increasingly open rift with Davutoglu, encompassing issues from relations with Europe to the pre-trial detention of government critics.

Erdogan, a political fighter hardened by a childhood in Istanbul's rough Kasimpasa district, wants a robust presidential system as a guarantee against the fractious coalition politics that hampered Turkey in the 1990s. His opponents see a stronger presidency as a vehicle for his own ambition.

Such a system would have seen Davutoglu, a more mild-mannered academic and former diplomat who lacks Erdogan's natural appeal to crowds, sidelined.

The two have governed in a strained alliance since Erdogan won the presidency in 2014 and Davutoglu replaced him as prime minister. Aides to Davutoglu had largely dismissed the tensions as matters of style rather than substance.

But in the clearest sign yet of a power struggle, the authority to appoint provincial AKP officials was taken from Davutoglu last week. The move reduced Davutoglu's hold over the party grassroots and cemented Erdogan's influence.

The two leaders have appeared at odds over the deal with the EU to stem the flow of illegal migrants from Turkish shores to the Greek islands, in return for which Ankara has been promised accelerated EU accession talks, visa liberalisation and financial aid. The deal has been Davutoglu's project, and its future may be less certain after his departure.

Erdogan, frequently critical of the EU, has at times appeared to belittle Davutoglu's progress, most notably efforts to win visa-free travel to Europe by June, the main prize in the eyes of many Turks.

"During my time as prime minister it was announced (this) would come in October 2016," Erdogan said recently. "I don't understand why bringing it forward four months is presented as a win. I'm saddened by the presentation of small things in a bigger light."

Former diplomat and political commentator Sinan Ulgen said the two leaders had always faced a "fundamental dilemma".

"Erdogan's end goal is to consolidate enough popular support to switch to a presidential system. Davutoglu's end goal is to consolidate his own power and be a successful prime minister," said Ulgen, head of the EDAM think-tank in Istanbul.

(REUTERS)