Germany expects Turkey to stick to EU migrant deal after PM resignation

Germany expects Turkey to uphold its agreement with the European Union on curbing migration to the bloc despite the departure of the Turkish prime minister who struck the deal, a German government spokesman said on Friday.

Ahmet Davutoglu announced on Thursday he was stepping down as leader of Turkey's ruling AK Party and therefore as prime minister, raising questions about the migrant deal with the EU.
"The chancellor (Angela Merkel) has worked very well with Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu and all Turkish officials, and we expect this good and constructive cooperation to continue with a new Turkish prime minister," deputy German government spokesman Georg Streiter said.
"We will fulfill our commitments and expect that Turkey will also fulfill its commitments. It is not an agreement between the EU and Mr Davutoglu, but rather an agreement between the EU and Turkey," Streiter told a regular government news conference.
(Reporting by Paul Carrel; Editing by Gareth Jones)a

Greeks strike as new tax, pension reforms loom

Greeks started a 48-hour nationwide strike on Friday in anger at tax and pension reforms pursued by the indebted nation to qualify for more of a multi-billion euro bailout it signed up to last year.

Called by the largest private and public sector unions, the strike left ships docked at port, disrupted public transport and kept civil servants and journalists off the job.
Greece's largest labor union, the private sector GSEE, said the reforms, now pending approval in parliament, were the "last nail on the coffin" for workers and pensioners who have sacrificed enough after six years of austerity.
"They are trying to prove to the Eurogroup that they are good students but they are destroying Greece's social security system," a GSEE official said, referring to euro zone finance ministers who are due to meet on Monday.
Athens hopes the measures, due to be voted on in parliament on Sunday, will help persuade creditors to approve the release of bailout cash.
A tranche of about 5 billion euros is overdue, after talks faltered over the pace of reforms. The Eurogroup is expected to discuss the stalemate on May 9.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, elected last year on an initial anti-austerity pledge but who was later forced to sign up to Greece's third international bailout since 2010, has a thin majority with 153 lawmakers in a 300-seat parliament.
Greece needs the bailout funds to pay IMF loans, ECB bonds maturing in July and growing state arrears, subject to lenders signing off on a review in its reform progress that includes changes to its tax and pension laws.
The proposed legislation would raise social security contributions, increase income tax for high earners and introduce a new national pension. It would also gradually phase out a top-up pension for low income earners.
Worn by years of austerity, Greeks fear that the new reforms will push the country further to the brink.
"We don't have food to eat and nobody asks us how we are," said shopkeeper Anna Papadopoulou, 74, who wept as she spoke.
Asked what she wanted to tell the Greek government, she said: "Wake up. We are dying."
(Writing by Michele Kambas; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Philippine presidential candidate Poe not withdrawing from election

Philippine presidential candidate Grace Poe said on Friday she will not withdraw from the election race but she was open to holding dialogue with one of her rivals, former interior minister Manuel Roxas.

Outgoing President Benigno Aquino said he was helping his chosen successor, Roxas, work with rival candidates and team up to stop frontrunner Rodrigo Duterte from winning Monday's election.
"I am not withdrawing from the fight," Poe said in a radio interview.
"We have been through a lot and what we carry here are the dreams and hopes of our countrymen that should not be compromised."
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Podemos seen losing support ahead of Spanish election repeat: survey

Spain's anti-austerity party Podemos is seen losing support ahead of a general election repeat on June 26, a closely-watched official survey showed on Friday, although the vote will remain highly fragmented and likely result in a new hung parliament.

Podemos would capture 17.7 percent of the votes against 20.6 percent in the December election, while the conservative People's Party of acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy would win the ballot with 27.4 percent, down from 28.7 percent.
The Socialists would place second with 21.6 percent, also down from 22.01 percent, and liberal Ciudadanos would come in fourth place with 15.6 percent, up from 13.93 percent.
(Reporting by Julien Toyer; Editing by Paul Day)

Kazakh agriculture minister Mamytbekov tenders resignation

Kazakhstan's agriculture minister, Asylzhan Mamytbekov, tendered his resignation on Friday, a spokesman for the ministry said, after being reprimanded by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Nazarbayev on Thursday criticized his government for failing to explain to the public a planned land reform which triggered a wave of protests. Economy minister Yerbolat Dosayev has already resigned over the issue.
(Reporting by Raushan Nurshayeva; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Jack Stubbs)

Trump's taco tweet baffles, riles social media users

NEW YORK | By Amy Tennery 

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump celebrated Cinco de Mayo on Thursday by tweeting a photo of himself with a taco bowl and the caption: "I love Hispanics," but the gesture was not to everyone's taste."Happy #CincoDeMayo!" tweeted Trump (@realDonaldTrump). "The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!"
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican defeat of the French during the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
The posting angered, baffled or amused some social media users, including Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, Trump's likely opponent in the Nov. 8 election.
"'I love Hispanics!' —Trump, 52 minutes ago," Clinton (@HillaryClinton) tweeted. "'They’re gonna be deported.' —Trump, yesterday."
Trump has struggled to gain the support of Latino voters since launching his presidential campaign last year with comments accusing Mexico of sending rapists and drug runners across the U.S. border.
He has also vowed to deport all the illegal immigrants living in the United States and build a wall along the border with Mexico and have that country pay for it.
"Trump Tower Grill" began trending on the microblogging platform after Trump's tweet, as social media users weighed in on the post.
"Trump sources confirm that in fact, Mexico paid for the taco salad," tweeted Tom Watson (@tomwatson).
Others found the tweet offensive and argued it relied heavily on crude stereotyping.
"Now officially waiting for a photo of Trump eating some Church's Chicken (or Bojangles) with a thumbs up and a 'I love the blacks!' [caption]" tweeted Slate chief political correspondent Jamelle Bouie (@jbouie).
"Trump and matzah ball soup on Jewish New Year... You can count on it," tweeted Harry Enten (@ForecasterEnten).
(Additional reporting by Alana Wise in Washington and Gina Cherelus in New York; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Exclusive: Top reason Americans will vote for Trump: 'To stop Clinton' - poll

NEW YORK | By Chris Kahn 

 The U.S. presidential election may turn out to be one of the world's biggest un-popularity contests.Nearly half of American voters who support either Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald Trump for the White House said they will mainly be trying to block the other side from winning, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday.
The results reflect a deepening ideological divide in the United States, where people are becoming increasingly fearful of the opposing party, a feeling worsened by the likely matchup between the New York real estate tycoon and the former first lady, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
"This phenomenon is called negative partisanship," Sabato said. "If we were trying to maximize the effect, we couldn't have found better nominees than Trump and Clinton."
Trump has won passionate supporters and vitriolic detractors for his blunt talk and hardline proposals, including his call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, his vow to force Mexico to pay for a border wall, and his promise to renegotiate international trade deals.
Former Secretary of State Clinton's appeal to voters seeking continuity with President Barack Obama's policies, has won her a decisive lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, but finds strong opponents among those disillusioned by what they see as lack of progress during Obama's tenure.
The poll asked likely voters about the primary motivation driving their support of either Trump or Clinton heading into the general election on Nov. 8.
About 47 percent of Trump supporters said they backed him primarily because they don't want Clinton to win. Another 43 percent said their primary motivation was a liking for Trump's political positions, while 6 percent said they liked him personally.
Similar responses prevailed among Clinton supporters.
About 46 percent said they would vote for her mostly because they don’t want to see a Trump presidency, while 40 percent said they agreed with her political positions, and 11 percent said they liked her personally.
The April 29-May 5 poll included 469 likely Trump voters and 599 likely Clinton voters. It has a credibility interval of 5 percentage points. (For results, click tmsnrt.rs/1TLCbqX)
To be sure, voters’ opinions could change over the next several months. Candidates will be feted at party conventions, will square off in a series of national debates, and will be targeted by millions of dollars worth of advertisements.
But the negative atmosphere is likely to reign, says Alan Abramowitz, an Emory University professor who has studied the rise of negative partisanship in America.
Both campaigns probably will decide their best strategy is to work even harder to vilify each other, he said.
"It’s going to get very, very negative," he added.
That would play into a longer-term trend.
A 2014 study by Pew Research Center found that Democrats and Republicans have shown increasingly negative views toward each other over the past few decades. In 2014 more than a quarter of Democrats, and more than a third of Republicans, viewed the opposition as "a threat to the nation’s well-being."
Barbara Monson, 59, a Republican from Murray, Utah, is among them. "No matter who the Republican (nominee) is, I would have voted for him," poll respondent Monson said of her support for Trump. "It’s never going to be Clinton. Never."
Jo-Anne Michaud, 69, an independent voter from Abingdon, Maryland, told Reuters she would try to keep an open mind. Although she has voted for both Republicans and Democrats in the past, she feels repelled by Trump.
"I used to like the guy when I watched his show," Michaud said. "But I just hate the way he talks now. I don’t think he’s a nice person deep down inside."
(Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Clarence Fernandez)

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