Syria’s Nusra Front says ending al Qaeda ties; U.S. fears for Aleppo Al Qaeda’s powerful Syrian branch, the Nusra Front, announced on Thursday it was ending its relationship with the global jihadist network founded by Osama bin Laden, to remove a pretext used by world powers to attack Syrians.
The announcement came as Russia and President Bashar al-Assad’s government declared a « humanitarian operation » in the besieged rebel-held sector of Aleppo, opening « safe corridors » so people can flee Syria’s most important opposition stronghold.
Washington said that appeared to be an attempt to depopulate the city and make fighters surrender. The opposition called it a euphemism for forced displacement.
In the first known video statement ever to show his face, the leader of the Nusra Front, Mohamad al-Golani, announced that the group would re-form under a new name, with « no ties with any foreign party ».
The move was being made « to remove the excuse used by the international community — spearheaded by America and Russia — to bombard and displace Muslims in the Levant: that they are targeting the Nusra Front which is associated with al Qaeda, » he said. The group would now be called Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.
Golani appeared in the video flanked by two other Nusra Front figures, in front of a new white flag for the group. Nusra Front’s old flag was black, the colour used by ultra-hardline jihadist groups such as al Qaeda and Islamic State.
Earlier on Thursday, bin Laden’s successor as Al Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, gave the Nusra Front his blessing to break away. In his message, Golani thanked Zawahri for putting the interests of Syrians ahead of organisational concerns.
The move appeared to be an attempt to appeal to Syrians who have long had deep misgivings about Nusra’s links with al Qaeda and the presence of foreign jihadists in its ranks. It could alter the strategic alignment on the ground if the renamed Nusra gains acceptance among other rebel groups.
STRONG POSITION But Assad and his Russian allies are unlikely to accept the rebranding as a reason to halt military operations that have put the Syrian leader in the strongest position on the battlefield for years.
The Nusra Front, one of the most powerful rebel forces in Syria’s five-year, multi-sided civil war, was excluded along with Islamic State from a U.S.- and Russian-backed ceasefire this year.
Nusra is listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the United Nations. Assad’s other opponents have long said its presence gave the government and its Russian allies a pretext to abandon the truce and launch advances under the cover of anti-terrorist operations permitted under the ceasefire.
The U.S. State Department said Nusra Front fighters remained a legitimate target for U.S. warplanes for now.
« We’re gonna have to wait and see, » State Department spokesman John Kirby said. « We judge a group by what they do, not by what they call themselves. » Western countries are worried that the announcement of safe corridors for people to flee Aleppo could herald a Russian-backed government assault on the city.
« This would appear to be a demand for the surrender of opposition groups and the evacuation of Syrian civilians from Aleppo, » Kirby said. « The innocent people of Aleppo should be able to stay in their homes safely, and to receive the humanitarian access, which Russia and the regime … in principle have agreed. » Syria’s largest city before the war, Aleppo has for years been divided into rebel and government zones. Asserting full control would be the biggest victory for Assad so far, and a potential turning point in a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands, spawned the world’s worst refugee crisis and drawn in most regional and world powers.
Any assault on Aleppo would also probably wreck a diplomatic effort by Secretary of State John Kerry to negotiate military cooperation between the United States and Russia.
LEAFLETS The Cold War-era superpowers are running separate military missions in Syria against their common foe Islamic State, but are on opposite sides in the wider civil war, with Moscow supporting Assad, and Washington saying he must step down.
Leaflets have been air-dropped on rebel-held parts of Aleppo since Wednesday, telling civilians they would be given safe passage out and providing maps to exit routes.
Around 250,000 civilians are believed to be trapped in the rebel zone. The United Nations says food supplies will run out within weeks.
Assad said rebels who surrendered within three months would be amnestied. State television quoted the governor of Aleppo as saying three humanitarian corridors would be established for residents to leave. Russia said a fourth corridor would be set up in the north for surrendering rebels.
The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said helicopters had been dropping baby diapers and meal packs with Russian-language labels over rebel areas.
But Syria’s main opposition High Negotiations Committee wrote to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon denouncing the corridors as « a euphemism for Russia’s efforts to alter Aleppo’s demographics and ensure forced displacement », which it called a war crime.
Several international relief agencies said exit corridors were not a substitute for aid access.
« Some 250 to 400,000 civilians remain in what was once Syria’s largest city – not all of them want or are able to leave, » Mercy Corps said.
« If it is a genuine humanitarian proposal, then clearly it will be accompanied by an end to the bombing campaign, » the British ambassador to the United Nations, Matthew Rycroft, told reporters in New York. « Clearly, the U.N. and the rest of us cannot be complicit in anything else, for instance any form of emptying of Aleppo or preparing for an onslaught of Aleppo or indeed any continuation of this medieval siege of Aleppo … » CORRIDORS NOT OPEN The proposed corridors did not appear to be open so far. Two rebels and aid workers contacted in besieged Aleppo said the army had fired at civilians in one of the safe corridors, in the Salah al-Din district. A doctor for a medical charity that operates in Aleppo also said the army had fired artillery at families gathering near another corridor, in the opposition-held Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood.
Hael Asi Hilal, head of the Syrian Red Crescent in rebel-held areas, said no family had been able to leave via any corridor due to snipers firing at them.
The army, backed by allied militia forces and air support from Syrian and Russian jets, meanwhile took more ground on the northern edge of the city. State television said the army had advanced in the Bani Zeid district, and the Observatory said pro-government forces were in full control.
The United States and Russia jointly sponsored the ceasefire earlier this year that led to U.N.-brokered peace talks. But that collapsed in May and since then government forces have been advancing with Russian support. Kerry’s talks with the Russians, aimed at building a system to jointly identify targets, have been largely fruitless.
A Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Washington’s stance would allow militants to regroup since it required a ceasefire before distinguishing between terrorists and other opposition groups.
« There is an element here of a political ruse at least, » he said.
One U.S. national security official said it was difficult to agree as long as Moscow’s and Washington’s wider objectives diverged. « The Russians want to destroy ISIS (Islamic State) to save Assad, » the official said. « We want to destroy ISIS to eliminate a terrorist threat and start a political process to remove Assad, who President Obama has said must go. »
Attempt at U.S.-Russia cooperation in Syria suffers major setbacks U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s attempt to elicit Russian military cooperation in the fight against Islamic State in Syria suffered two potentially crippling blows on Thursday.
First, the Syrian army said it had cut off all supply routes into the eastern part of the city of Aleppo – Syria’s most important opposition stronghold – and President Bashar al-Assad’s government asked residents to leave the city.
That move, U.S. officials speaking on condition of anonymity said on Thursday, appeared to be an effort to pre-empt a U.S.
demand that Russia and Syria reopen a major road into the divided northern city before talks could begin on creating a joint intelligence center to coordinate air attacks against Islamic State.
Then al Qaeda’s Syrian branch announced on Thursday it was terminating its relationship with the global network created by Osama bin Laden and changing its name to remove what it called a pretext by the United States and other countries to attack Syrians.
Although one U.S. official called it « a change in name only, » the move complicates the American proposal to limit the Russians and Syrians to targeting only Nusra and IS, not other rebel groups supported by Washington and its allies in the coalition against Islamic State.
« By disavowing its ties to al Qaeda – which, incidentally, it did with al Qaeda’s blessing – Nusra has made it harder to isolate it from more moderate groups, some of whose members may join it now because it’s more powerful than some of the groups they belong to now, » said the official.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Washington has been clear about its concerns over the announcement of the humanitarian corridor and that its view of the Nusra Front had not changed despite its name change.
« But we also remain committed to the proposals reached by the United States and Russia to better enforce the cessation of hostilities in Syria and provide the space needed for a resumption of political talks. If fully implemented in good faith, they can achieve a measure of success that has eluded us thus far, » Kirby told Reuters.
« As the secretary made clear, however, we are pragmatic about these efforts, and we will look to Russia to meet its commitments as we will meet ours. That will be the primary, determining factor of success here, » he added.
FALTERING PROPOSAL The twin U.S. goals in Syria have been ending the violence that already has claimed some 400,000 lives, according to United Nations estimates, and seeking a political process to replace Assad, whom President Barack Obama has said « must go. » But while Washington and Moscow have both expressed hope they can find a way to cooperate against IS, Kerry’s proposal was already in trouble due to the competing objectives of the Cold War-era foes as well as resistance from U.S. military and intelligence officials.
U.S. officials questioned Russian and Syrian claims that their aim in evacuating civilians from Aleppo was to clear the way for humanitarian assistance to reach the besieged city, where 200,000-300,000 civilians remain with only two to three weeks of food on hand.
« Why would you evacuate a city that you wanted to send humanitarian aid to? » asked one official. « At first glance, that would appear to be a unilateral effort by Moscow and Assad to pre-empt Kerry’s demand for ending the siege of Aleppo before starting negotiations on the larger issues. If the proposal isn’t dead, it seems to be pretty badly wounded. » U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura wants a deal as soon as possible so he can restart peace talks within a month and aid flows can resume.
France had been hunting second church attacker after tipoff Police had been hunting the second teenager who killed a priest in a church in France this week after a foreign intelligence tipoff that a suspected jihadist might be preparing an attack, police and judicial sources said.
The revelation is likely to further fuel criticism by opposition politicians that President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government did not do enough to stop the pair given that they were both already known to intelligence services.
They stormed a church service, forced a 85-year-old Roman Catholic priest to his knees at the altar and slit his throat.
They were later shot and killed by police.
Police had already identified 19-year-old Adel Kermiche as one of the attackers. He had made failed bids to reach Syria to wage jihad, wore an electronic bracelet and was awaiting trial for alleged membership of a terrorist organisation having been released on bail.
They have now identified the second man as Abdel-Malik Nabil Petitjean, also 19, from a town in eastern France on the border with Germany, a judicial source told Reuters on Thursday.
A source close to the investigation said Petitjean was not known to French security services until a tipoff from Turkish authorities. He was stopped and questioned by profilers on his arrival at Istanbul’s international airport on June 10 before he was allowed to continue on his way, a Turkish official said.
Turkey notified the French authorities in late June, the source said, and anti-terrorism officials opened up a special file, suspecting he had become radicalised. The government has said there are about 10,500 people with such so-called ‘S files’ related to potential jihadi activities in France.
But in the time it took security agencies in Turkey, a well-trodden entry point into Syria for foreign militants, to notify France, Petitjean had returned.
« We know that he turned around and returned on June 11, » said the source. « The Turks hadn’t yet flagged his name, so he came back normally, there was no file at this point, he wasn’t known to us. » A second tipoff from an unidentified foreign intelligence source led to the French authorities circulating a photo to its security agencies on July 22 of a man believed to be planning an attack. They had no name to go on, but the police sources said there was now little doubt that the photo was of Petitjean.
The person in the photo also appears to be one of a pair seen in a video posted on Wednesday by Islamic State’s news agency, the police sources said. The video claimed the two men were the church attackers and showed them pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Islamic State’s leader.
Petitjean’s mother Yamina told BFM TV that her son had never spoken about Islamic State.
A judicial source said that one man who had travelled to Turkey with Petitjean in June was among three people close to the teenager who were being detained in police custody.
Two opposition lawmakers on Thursday submitted a draft bill to parliament that would prohibit the media from publishing the identities and photographs of militant attackers to prevent their names being glorified in death.
HOLLANDE UNDER PRESSURE Tuesday’s attack came less than two weeks after another suspected Islamist drove a truck into a Bastille Day crowd, killing 84 people.
Opposition politicians have responded to the attacks with strong criticism of the government’s security record, unlike last year, when they made a show of unity after gunmen and bombers killed 130 people at Paris entertainment venues in November and attacked a satirical newspaper in January.
Hollande’s predecessor and potential opponent in a presidential election next year, Nicolas Sarkozy, has said the government must take stronger steps to track known Islamist sympathisers.
He has called for the detention or electronic tagging of all suspected Islamist militants, even if they have committed no offence.
Kermiche’s tag did not send an alarm because the attack took place during the four hour period when he was allowed out.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve rejected Sarkozy’s proposal, saying that to jail them would be unconstitutional, and also counterproductive as many people did not know they were being watched.
Since the two most recent attacks the government has said that summer festivals that do not meet tight security standards are to be cancelled.
On Thursday, local authorities banned a procession in the city of Nice that was to have commemorated those who died there on July 14.
Since that Bastille Day killing, there has been a spate of attacks in Germany too, creating greater and wider alarm around Western Europe.
In Marseille, three men were put under investigation on Thursday after shouting ‘Alluha Akbar’ (God is great in Arabic) as they drove a boat repeatedly at the coast.
In Corsica, a dissident branch of the nationalist FLNC threatened reprisals against Islamic State and called on Muslims living on the Mediterranean island to demonstrate at their sides against radical Islam.
Islamic State releases new video of France church attacker Islamic State’s affiliated news agency AMAQ on Thursday released a video purportedly showing one of the two men who attacked a church in northern France this week urging all Muslims to destroy the country.
In the pre-recorded video, Abdel-Malik Nabir Petitjean, formally identified as one of the men who killed a priest in the attack before being shot dead by police, addresses President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls directly.
« The times have changed. You will suffer what our brothers and sisters are suffering. We are going to destroy your country, » the man AMAQ alleges is Petitjean says in the recording.
« Brothers go out with a knife, whatever is needed, attack them, kill them en masse, » he says, calling on Muslims to attack allies of the international coalition forces fighting Islamist militants in Syria.
Australia’s Muslim migrants on edge, race relations falter with rise of the right Race relations in Australia have deteriorated so badly that some community leaders fear violence will erupt in a political vacuum where the new government, elected with a bare majority, must rely on the support of parties that have fomented the discord.
The potential for violence after a bitter election campaign, which featured calls for a ban on Muslim immigration, is palpable for people like Afghan-born Muhammad Taqi Haidari.
Haidari, from Afghanistan’s Shi’ite Muslim Hazara minority, no longer tells people his name is Muhammad, preferring to use Taqi.
« When there is a problem like in Paris and now in Nice they hear the name Muhammad. They include me as one of those Muhammads, » Haidari, who lives in Sydney’s less affluent western suburbs, told Reuters.
Australia, a staunch U.S. ally with troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, has been spared the mass violence that has become commonplace among other U.S. allies, particularly in Europe.
In barely more than a month, scores of people have been killed in Paris, in smaller French towns such as Nice, and across Germany, many of them in attacks claimed by the militant Islamic State group.
Machete-wielding attackers and suicide bombers have also struck with devastating effect in Bangladesh and Kabul.
In Australia, once fringe parties such as Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, which first gained international notoriety in the late 1990s, have exploited the fear such attacks have generated by saying that Muslim immigration must be stopped.
However, community leaders such as Stepan Kerkyasharian, a veteran former head of a government anti-discrimination board, fear their rhetoric will also generate retaliatory acts against Muslim migrants.
POTENTIAL FOR VIOLENCE That is an even more pressing concern after the narrow win secured by Australia’s conservative coalition in July 2 elections, which also gave a stronger voice to fringe political players like Hanson.
« The intensity and feeling has been there for some time but it has now made it into the public discourse. It would be a serious mistake to underestimate the potential for violence, » Kerkyasharian told Reuters.
« Unfortunately there has been a reluctance on the part of political leadership to engage people in rational debate and discussion on this matter, » he said.
Race relations have threatened to erupt in the barely four weeks since Hanson secured her return to the Australian parliament. Her public appearances have attracted protesters and supporters in numbers rarely seen in Australian politics.
Outwardly easy-going and peaceful, Australia has a troubling race relations record. The White Australia Policy, which was only dismantled in the late 1960s, favoured European migrants over non-whites. Australia’s Aborigines were administered under flora and fauna laws until then and remain far behind the rest of the population in literacy, health and economic standards.
There have also been racial flashpoints before. In 2005, riots broke out in the Sydney beachside suburb of Cronulla between white residents and Lebanese from other suburbs, gaining international notoriety.
Duncan Lewis, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, told a parliamentary committee in May that as many 59 Australians had been killed fighting with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
So it is not entirely surprising that many ordinary Australians, and even morning TV show presenters, have come out in favour of Hanson’s Muslim immigration ban, stirring fierce debate on prime-time television and on social media.
Her unexpectedly influential position after an indecisive election – Hanson and a small handful of others will likely form a bloc whose vote will determine the passage or rejection of legislation – mean that mainstream politicians ignore her at their peril.
Foreshadowing that newfound influence, Hanson released a video message on Monday after meeting Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, telling her supporters they had discussed several policies and that he was « prepared to listen to me ».
RISE OF THE RIGHT The rise of One Nation in Australia echoes what has been seen in Europe, where centrist governments are being challenged by right-wing, anti-immigration parties after hundreds of thousands poured in, fleeing war in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.
Brian Burston, who represents Hanson’s One Nation in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, said a moratorium on Muslim immigration was needed to alleviate community fear.
« You can’t discern between the different groups and you don’t know whether there’s ISIS infiltrators in any of them, » Burston said.
« The weapon of choice now is a truck. What next? It’s just frightening, » he said, singling out the attack in Nice.
Hanson told Reuters that banning new mosques and Muslim immigration were issues that resonated with voters. She did not respond to more recent requests for an interview.
Muhammad Ali, a 30-year-old Afghan who lives in Sydney, said her anti-Islam comments were already putting people at risk. « Hanson has a right to speak, » Ali said. « But will she take responsibility for what happens as a result of her words? »
Erdogan wants army under president’s control after coup -Turkish official Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wants the armed forces and national intelligence agency brought under the control of the presidency, a parliamentary official said on Thursday, part of a major overhaul of the military after a failed coup.
Erdogan’s comments came after a five-hour meeting of Turkey’s Supreme Military Council (YAS) – chaired by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and including the top brass – and the dishonourable discharge of nearly 1,700 military personnel over their alleged role in the abortive putsch on July 15-16.
After the meeting, Erdogan approved the council’s decisions to keep armed forces chief Hulusi Akar and the army, navy and air force commanders in their posts, making few changes to the top brass, Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told reporters.
Erdogan, who narrowly escaped capture and possible death on the night of the coup, told Reuters in an interview last week that the military, NATO’S second biggest, needed « fresh blood ».
The dishonourable discharges included around 40 percent of Turkey’s admirals and generals.
Turkey accuses U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the coup and has suspended or placed under investigation tens of thousands of his suspected followers, including soldiers, judges and academics.
In the aftermath of the coup, media outlets, schools and universities have also been closed down.
« The president said that … he would discuss with opposition parties bringing the General Staff and the MIT (intelligence agency) under the control of the presidency, » the parliamentary official said.
Such a change would require a constitutional amendment, so Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted AK Party would require the support of opposition parties in parliament, Turkish media said.
Both the General Staff and MIT currently report to the prime minister’s office. Putting them under the president’s overall direction would be in line with Erdogan’s push for a new constitution centred on a strong executive presidency.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag repeated Ankara’s request to the United States to swiftly extradite Gulen, once a powerful ally of Erdogan. He cited intelligence reports suggesting that the 75-year-old preacher might flee his residence in rural Pennsylvania.
Gulen has condemned the coup and denies any involvement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said more than 300 personnel in his ministry had links to Gulen and that it had dismissed 88 employees.
Separately, Turkey’s biggest petrochemicals company Petkim said its chief executive had resigned and the state-run news agency Anadolu said he had been detained in connection with the failed coup.
Anadolu also said Ankara prosecutors requested the seizure of the assets of 3,049 judges and prosecutors detained as part of the investigation into the coup attempt.
WESTERN CONCERNS Western governments and human rights groups have condemned the coup, in which at least 246 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured. But they have also expressed disquiet over the scale and depth of the purges, fearing that Erdogan may be using them to get rid of opponents and tighten his grip on power.
The government said on Wednesday it had ordered the closure of three news agencies, 16 television channels, 45 newspapers, 15 magazines and 29 publishers. This announcement followed the shutting down of other media outlets and detention of journalists with suspected Gulenist ties.
In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was « deeply concerned » about the latest reports of Turkish closure of news media outlets and was seeking clarification from the government about the action.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel became the latest Western leader on Thursday to urge restraint, while underlining Turkey’s need to take action against the rebels.
« In a constitutional state – and this is what worries me and what I am following closely – the principle of proportionality must be ensured by all, » she told a news conference in Berlin.
Cavusoglu told broadcaster CNN Turk that some prosecutors with links to Gulen had fled to Germany and he urged Berlin to extradite them. He also said he saw « positive change » in the attitude of the United States towards Ankara’s request to extradite Gulen to Turkey.
Even before the failed coup, Turkey was struggling with major security challenges including attacks by Kurdish militants and Islamic State, a grim reality underscored by tourism data on Thursday showing a 40 percent fall in foreign visitors in June.
Turmoil in Turkey’s armed forces raises questions about its ability to contain the Islamic State militant threat in neighbouring Syria and the renewed Kurdish insurgency in its southeast, military analysts say.
The AK Party, founded by Erdogan and in power since 2002, has long had testy relations with the military, which for decades saw itself as the ultimate guardian of Turkey’s secular order and legacy of the nation’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The military has ousted four governments in the past 60 years.
However, Erdogan says the armed forces have been infiltrated in recent years by Gulen’s supporters. « The army has to stop being the army of the Fethullah Gulen terrorist organisation, » Justice Minister Bozdag said.
EXERTING CONTROL In a symbolic sign of how civilian authorities are now firmly in charge, Thursday’s military council meeting was held at the prime minister’s office rather than General Staff headquarters.
Yildirim accompanied senior military officers to pay respects at Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara ahead of the meeting.
« We will surely eliminate all terror organisations that target our state, our nation and the indivisible unity of our country, » Yildirim said in televised remarks at the mausoleum.
Changes since the coup include bringing the gendarmerie, which is responsible for security in rural areas, and the coast guard firmly under interior ministry control rather than under General Staff control.
CNN Turk has reported that more than 15,000 people, including around 10,000 soldiers, have been detained so far over the coup, citing the interior minister. Of those, more than 8,000 were formally arrested pending trial, it said.
EXTRADITION URGENT This month’s events have exacerbated strains in Turkey’s relations with the United States. Washington has responded cautiously to the request to extradite Gulen, saying it must provide clear evidence of his involvement in the coup plot.
Bozdag said Turkey was receiving intelligence that Gulen might flee, possibly to Australia, Mexico, Canada, South Africa or Egypt. Egypt said it had not received an asylum request.
Gulen built up his reputation as a Sunni Muslim preacher with intense sermons. His movement, known as Hizmet, or « Service » in Turkish, set up hundreds of schools and businesses in Turkey and later abroad. His philosophy stresses the need to embrace scientific progress, shun radicalism and build bridges to the West and other religious faiths.
The United States and European Union, which Turkey aspires to join, have both urged Ankara to exercise restraint in its crackdown on suspected Gulen supporters and to ensure those arrested have a fair trial.
Amnesty International has said detainees may have suffered human rights violations, including beatings and rape – an accusation roundly rejected by Ankara.
The EU has also bridled at talk in Turkey – from Erdogan down – of restoring the death penalty, a move Brussels said would scupper Ankara’s decades-old bid to join the bloc.
Tourism, a pillar of the economy, has been badly hit by a series of deadly bombings in Turkey, including one at Istanbul’s airport in June that killed 45 people, and by tensions with Russia. Data showing a 40 percent drop year-on-year in June in the number of foreign visitors to Turkey is further bad news for the government. The decline was the biggest in 22 years.
Turkish military promotes 99 colonels in shake-up, top brass little changedTurkey’s top military council promoted 99 colonels to the rank of general or admiral and put 48 generals into retirement in its annual shake-up, the military said on Friday, although the top brass was little changed after this month’s failed coup attempt.
President Tayyip Erdogan approved the council’s key decisions, leaving armed forces chief Hulusi Akar and the army, navy and air force commanders in their posts, Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin separately told reporters late on Thursday.
The annual meeting of the Supreme Military Council – chaired by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and including the top brass – followed the dishonourable discharge of nearly 1,700 military personnel over their alleged roles in the abortive putsch on July 15-16.
Erdogan, who narrowly escaped capture and possible death on the night of the coup, told Reuters in an interview last week that the military, NATO’S second biggest, needed « fresh blood ».
The dishonourable discharges included around 40 percent of Turkey’s admirals and generals.
A statement on the armed forces’ website said that, alongside the promotion of 99 colonels, 16 generals and admirals were promoted and the terms of 20 generals and admirals were extended by a year. The statement made no reference to the coup. Among the limited changes in the most senior commanders, the deputy armed forces chief General Yasar Guler was appointed commander of Turkey’s gendarmerie force, while the head of the prestigious First Army, General Umit Dundar, replaced him as Akar’s second-in-command, the presidential spokesman said.
Turkey military purge harming fight against Islamic State ClapperTurkey’s purge of its military after a failed coup attempt is hindering cooperation in the U.S.-led fight against Islamic State, James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, said on Thursday.
The purge has swept aside many Turkish officers who dealt with the United States and landed some of them in jail, Clapper and head of U.S. Central Command General Joseph Votel said while both were speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Aspen, Colorado.
Turkey launched a major overhaul of NATO’s second-biggest military after the abortive coup, in which Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan narrowly escaped capture and possible death.
Nearly 1,700 military personnel received dishonorable discharges over their alleged role in the July 15-16 putsch, including around 40 percent of Turkey’s admirals and generals.
Around a third of Turkey’s roughly 360 generals were detained, and more than 100 of them have already been charged pending trial.
Turkey hosts American troops and warplanes at Incirlik Air Base, from which the United States flies sorties against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. Those air operations were temporarily halted following the coup attempt.
Clapper, asked about the impact of events in Turkey on the fight against Islamic State, replied: « It’s having an effect, because it’s affected all segments of the national security apparatus in Turkey. » « Many of our interlocutors have been purged or arrested, » he added. « There’s no question this is going to set back and make more difficult cooperation with the Turks. » Asked whether Turkish military figures whom the United States has worked with are in detention, Votel said: « Yes, I think some of them are in jail. » Votel said while normal operations have resumed at Incirlik, he is worried about « longer-term » impacts from the failed coup on counter-terrorism operations.
« We’ve certainly had relationships with a lot of Turkish leaders, military leaders in particular, » he said. « I am concerned about what the impact is on those relationships as we kind of continue to move forward. » Beyond Incirlik, there are other « frictions » in the U.S.-Turkish relationship that are impacting U.S. operations, Votel said, though he did not elaborate.
« We’ve got ways to mitigate that, to manage that right now, » he said. « And we are. » Turkey is also host to a CIA base from which the agency has been supporting moderate Syrian rebel forces, U.S. listening posts, and an early warning radar for NATO’s European missile defense system. But U.S. officials have criticized Turkey’s slow pace in sealing its border with Syria to foreign fighters.
Erdogan has accused U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of masterminding the coup, and the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday that ties with the United States will be affected if the United States does not extradite him.
Erdogan wants the armed forces and national intelligence agency brought under the control of the presidency, a parliamentary official said on Thursday. CNN Turk has reported that more than 15,000 people, including around 10,000 soldiers, have been detained so far over the coup. Of those, more than 8,000 were formally a
COLUMN-Why the situation in Turkey may only get worse (Lauren Bohn is the GroundTruth Project’s Middle East correspondent based in Istanbul. Elmira Bayrasli is a lecturer at NYU and the author of « From The Other Side of The World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places. » Together they founded Foreign Policy Interrupted, an initiative to amplify female foreign policy voices. The opinions expressed are their own.)
Istanbul’s towering Palace of Justice opened in 2011, a gleaming 19-story behemoth and the largest courthouse in Europe.
For more than a week, Emine has camped there with only a handbag in tow, hoping to catch a glimpse of her 22-year-old son, a low-level military conscript, who was detained in the aftermath of Turkey’s coup attempt on July 15. The morning after he rode in a military vehicle outside Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, he texted her: « I think they’re taking me. » She hasn’t heard from him since.
« He’s a child, he didn’t do anything, » Emine said, asking for her last name to be withheld. In Turkey, military service is compulsory and her two younger sons are slated to serve soon.
« Now neighbors say he was a terrorist…does anyone know what is going on? Has the world turned upside down? » After decades of stability and economic growth, few in Turkey expected the country’s generals to usurp power again as it had in 1960, 1971 and 1980. When they did, however, thousands heeded the call from President Recep Tayyip Erdoan to stand up for « the people’s will. » Even Erdoan’s staunchest opponents came out against the coup, offering a rare moment of unity and optimism that Turkish politics had finally progressed and perhaps embraced democracy.
But what has followed in recent days reeks more of revenge than progress or democracy.
More than 50,000 people have been rounded up, sacked or suspended from their jobs by Turkey’s government. Last week, Erdoan called a three-month state of emergency to « cleanse terrorist elements » from the military, referring to supporters of his erstwhile ally and now foe, U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah G?len. The government accuses G?len of orchestrating the attempted coup, a claim G?len denies.
« Erdoan will use the botched coup to become Supreme Leader of Turkey, » said a Turkish human rights activist, requesting anonymity for fear of losing her job. « Dark days are coming. » Indeed, many are concerned about Turkey’s future, particularly the direction of its democracy, which has not come easy, if at all. Democracy in Turkey has not always prioritized the rights and freedoms of the individual or the collective whole. Instead, it has taken a majoritarian approach – might makes right – drowning out diversity and dissent.
Since the founding of the Turkish republic in 1923 and for much of the 20th century, the urban white collar elite was that majority. The rural and largely pious underclass was ignored, relegated to the margins of society. Erdoan tipped that balance.
« He’s from this neighborhood, he’s like us…he understands, » said ?mer Emerolu, 26, when asked why he supports Erdoan and why he went out on the streets to stand against the coup attempt on July 15. The president has long strummed his backstory as a common boy from Kasimpaa, a working class district of Istanbul, like a well-versed instrumentalist, playing for a constituency that has long felt oppressed and disenfranchised.
« He’s a real Turk, a son of this neighborhood, » Emerolu says. « And I would die to protect the country Erdoan gave us. » Erdoan has delivered much needed services to Turks who live in the county’s ghettos, villages, and towns. As mayor of Istanbul and later prime minister, Erdoan and his Justice and Development Party, better known as the AKP, improved infrastructure, attracted investments, expanded the economy, and jumpstarted social mobility. Most importantly, they spoke about a « new » Turkey in which everyone would be heard, minorities would be respected, and tolerance would triumph.
Yet as his rule, in the face of a weak and inept opposition, went unchallenged, Erdoan changed. He was no longer an outsider fighting against the establishment. He, the scrappy soccer player from Kasimpaa, had become the establishment. His focus veered away from a « new » Turkey to maintaining the status quo – his power and the ability to hold on to it.
This white-knuckled grip on power came to light during the 2013 anti-government « Gezi » protests that opposed the razing of a park outside Istanbul’s main Taksim Square. Erdoan responded in textbook strongman fashion with water cannons and tear gas.
Critics and dissenters were arrested. When corruption allegations surfaced later that year, Erdoan shut down social media sites and fired judges and police officers whom he believed were linked to G?len, whom Erdoan thinks leaked the allegations.
As his term as AKP leader started to draw to a close in 2014 and he campaigned to become Turkey’s president, Erdoan talked about the need to rewrite Turkey’s constitution and overhaul the country’s system of government. Turkey, he argued, needed to move away from a parliamentary system toward a presidential one – a system in which Erdoan would gain unprecedented power, solidifying not merely majoritarian but strongman rule.
In such a system, there is much at risk beyond civil liberties, justice and human rights. Many are concerned about the future of Turkey’s once dynamic but now stalled economy.
Turkey’s economy depends on exports, especially with its largest trading partner, the European Union.
Even more wonder what will become of the country’s relations with its neighbors and allies, including the United States and NATO. This is especially important as Turkey grapples with Syria, its own Kurdish issue, and the rise of Islamic extremists. At the end of June, Erdoan mended ties with Israel and Russia. In the days following the coup attempt, however, Ankara has lashed out at Washington, with which it has had strained relations for the past several years. Ankara has demanded that the Obama administration hand over G?len – and threatens to « review » their relations if it does not. Both capitals remain on edge.
So do most Turks. On Sunday, thousands gathered in Taksim Square to protest the coup attempt. The rally was held by Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), but members of the AKP joined in a historic gesture of unity.
« This isn’t just about the coup, we are saying no to dictatorship, too, » said Hale Ersoy, a CHP supporter, offering a thinly veiled critique of Erdoan. « We will be back in the square if democracy isn’t upheld. We’re watching. » Just a few miles away in Kasimpaa, Erdoan’s old stomping grounds, youth like Emerolu are watching, too, and championing the coming days as a much needed restructuring of the state.
« What would Obama do if this happened in America? This plot will only make us stronger and reveal the traitors. Erdoan is saving Turkey, » said Emerolu, before joining the Taksim rally.
« Nothing can stop him. » And that’s exactly why mothers like Emine, who camped outside the marble fortress of the Palace of Justice, fear the days ahead might go down as some of Turkey’s darkest
Israel’s Netanyahu celebrates warming ties with Sisi’s Egypt Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday praised warming relations with Egypt and its president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who ousted an Islamist government seen as hostile to ties between the neighbours.
Egypt was the first of a handful of Arab countries to recognise Israel, in 1979, but the downfall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011 brought to power the government of Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, straining relations with Israel.
Cooperation has improved since Sisi took power in 2013, with Egypt battling Islamist insurgents in Sinai near its border with Israel and both countries wary of Gaza’s Islamist rulers, Hamas.
At an event at the Egyptian ambassador’s residence for Egypt’s national day, Netanyahu called the countries’ peace treaty an « anchor of stability and security in our region ».
« I want to thank President al-Sisi for his leadership and for his efforts to advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians and in the broader Middle East. » Netanyahu said in a speech.
« We welcome the effort to incorporate other Arab states in this larger effort of a broader peace between all the people of the Middle East. » Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, paid a rare visit to Israel this month to meet Netanyahu, offering Cairo’s help to revive peace talks with the Palestinians. It was the first visit to the Jewish state by an Egyptian foreign minister in nine years.
In May, Sisi urged both sides to seize the opportunity to make peace, offering Israel the prospect of warmer ties if this were achieved.
Afghan government loses 5 pct of territory in 4 months -U.S. govt watchdog The Afghan government lost control or influence of nearly 5 percent of its territory between January and May, the U.S government’s top watchdog on Afghanistan said in a report on Friday, an indication of the challenges its forces are facing.
Fifteen years after the United States invaded Afghanistan to topple the Taliban rulers who had harbored al Qaeda militants who attacked the United States, the Taliban have made major gains and are estimated to control more territory than at any time since 2001.
Washington has been training and equipping Afghan security forces in order to withdraw America troops from the country, but the Afghans remain short of personnel and hardware.
The report, published by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), said the area under Afghan government « control or influence » had decreased to 65.6 percent by the end of May from 70.5 percent near the end of January, based on data provided by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
That translates to a loss of 19 of the country’s approximately 400 governing districts.
The report cited U.S. forces in Afghanistan as saying the loss of control was because Afghan forces were redeployed from lower-priority areas to « conduct offensive operations, gain and maintain the initiative, exploit opportunities, and consolidate tactical gains. » The commander of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, Army General John Nicholson, said most of the areas the Taliban control were rural.
« They believed they were going to be able to seize and hold terrain, and they failed to do so, » Nicholson told a Pentagon briefing via video link on Thursday.
The report, however, said insurgents had 10 additional districts under their control or influence in the same timeframe. It was not possible to reach the Afghan government immediately for comment.
Acknowledging that security in Afghanistan remained precarious and Taliban forces had gained ground in some places, President Barack Obama shelved plans to cut the U.S. force in Afghanistan nearly in half by year’s end, opting instead to keep 8,400 troops there through to the end of his presidency in January.
Obama also approved U.S. forces new authorities that enable them to accompany Afghan forces, while allowing greater use of U.S. air power.
Previously, Nicholson – who commands both the NATO-led Resolute Support mission and a separate U.S. counterterrorism mission – was permitted to take action against the Taliban only « in extremis, » or when U.S. assistance was necessary to prevent a significant Afghan military setback.
A report by the Center on International Cooperation commissioned by the United Nations and published earlier this year found that the government had access to 61 percent of districts in 2015, down from 67 percent in 2010. « The deficiencies and incapacities of the Afghan security forces have really not been addressed enough to avert such a scenario (of losing territory) in the future, » said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia specialist at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington think-tank.
China says to hold drills with Russia in South China Sea China and Russia will hold « routine » naval exercises in the South China Sea in September, China’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday, adding that the drills were aimed at strengthening their cooperation and were not aimed at any other country.
The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the contested waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled this month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticised its environmental destruction there.
China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in the case.
« This is a routine exercise between the two armed forces, aimed at strengthening the developing China-Russia strategic cooperative partnership, » China’s defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a regular monthly news conference.
« The exercise is not directed against third parties. » China and Russia are veto-wielding members of the U.N.
Security Council, and have held similar views on many major issues such as the crisis in Syria, putting them at odds with the United States and Western Europe.
Last year, they held joint military drills in the Sea of Japan and the Mediterranean.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest played down the significance of the exercises even though he conceded that the South China Sea was « a sensitive diplomatic topic right now ».
« I don’t know what exercises they are planning, but in the same way the United States and China have a military-to-military relationship, I’m not surprised that Russia and China are seeking to build upon their military-to-military relationship as well, » he told a regular briefing.
China has recently taken part in U.S.-led multinational naval drills in the Pacific and a U.S. defense official said he did not expect the China-Russia exercises to affect U.S.
military activity or behaviour in the South China Sea.
« We’re not concerned about the safety of U.S. vessels in the region as long as interactions with the Chinese remain safe and professional, which has been the case in most cases, » the official said.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.
China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stoking tension in the region through its military patrols, and of taking sides in the dispute.
The United States has sought to assert its right to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea with its patrols and denies taking sides in the territorial disputes.
Russia has been a strong backer of China’s stance on the arbitration case, which was brought by the Philippines.
Yang said China and Russia were comprehensive strategic partners and had already held many exercises this year. « These drills deepen mutual trust and expand cooperation, raise the ability to jointly deal with security threats, and benefit the maintenance of regional and global peace and stability, » he said.
FOREX-Yen firms ahead of BOJ meeting outcomeThe yen firmed in jumpy market conditions on Friday, spiking to a 2 1/2-week high against the dollar as investors braced for the possibility that the Bank of Japan’s expected easing steps will disappoint market participants hoping for more radical measures.
The dollar was down 0.5 percent at 104.76 yen, after earlier skidding as low as 103.30, its lowest since July 12, as stop-loss orders were triggered in thin market conditions, by what some market participants speculate might have been a trading mistake. It was on track for a weekly loss of 1.4 percent.
Overnight dollar/yen implied volatility surged above 50 percent on Thursday, its highest since the depths of the financial crisis in late 2008.
The euro was buying 116.07 yen, down 0.4 percent, and 0.4 percent lower for the week.
The BOJ usually announces its policy decisions around noon in Tokyo (0300 GMT), although the bank does not set an exact time.
A sizable increase in bond purchases, combined with an expansion of risky assets such as exchange-traded funds (ETF), would be the most likely option if the BOJ wants to shock markets with a large-scale easing, according to sources familiar with the bank’s thinking.
« While the BOJ’s additional monetary easing could create synergy effects with the fiscal stimulus plans, additional monetary easing is not expected to include ‘helicopter money’ type policy, » said Harumi Taguchi, principal economist at IHS Markit in Tokyo.
She added that the BOJ’s actions were unlikely to include measures to accelerate inflation to hit the 2 pct inflation target.
« Whether the bank moves or not, the bank’s decisions are likely to increase volatility » in foreign exchange, fixed income and equity markets, she said.
Under heavy government lobbying, the BOJ is considering specific steps for expanding monetary stimulus to address signs of weakness in inflation, the sources said.
Data out on Friday underscored the downward pressure on prices. Japan’s core consumer price index fell 0.5 percent in June from a year earlier, compared with economists’ median estimate for a 0.4 percent annual gain.
On Wednesday, the Japanese government unveiled a surprisingly large 28 trillion yen ($267.58 billion) stimulus package, firmly placing the stimulus ball in the central bank’s court.
Sources told Reuters on Thursday that the government package contains direct fiscal spending of only 7 trillion yen, which is likely to disappoint investors hoping for bigger outlays given the large headline figure.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit six major peers, was down 0.2 percent at 96.585, poised to lose 0.9 percent for the week.
Thursday’s economic data also weighed on the dollar. A wider-than-expected $63.3 billion U.S. trade deficit on goods in June and an unexpected rise in new unemployment claims last week both added credence to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision on Wednesday to leave policy on hold.
Investors will await the U.S. government’s initial reading on second quarter gross domestic product later on Friday. The economy was expected to expand at an annualised 1.8 percent, the Atlanta Federal Reserve’s GDP Now forecast model showed on Thursday. The euro edged up 0.1 percent to $1.1083, up 1 percent for the week.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares flat, yen hits 2-week high ahead of BOJ Asian shares touched a one-year peak on Friday, while the yen hit a two-week high in nervous trade as investors waited to see if the Bank of Japan will come up with stimulus that would meet markets’ expectations.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan hit the highest level since Aug. 11 before pulling back to trade down 0.2 percent.
It is set for a 1.2 percent gain for the week, and 5.7 percent for the month.
Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.4 percent. It looked set for a 1.3 percent weekly drop, but a 5.4 percent monthly gain.
The yen rose to as high as 103.30 to the dollar from 105.30 in late U.S. trade on Thursday, which market players largely attributed to the result of « fat finger » orders exacerbated by thin trading conditions as there was no apparent news to justify such a big move.
The BOJ is widely expected to expand its stimulus further by increasing its already massive asset purchases and possibly cutting interest rates deeper into negative territory.
But many investors said there is a big chance of disappointment because markets have long expected more stimulus, making it difficult for BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda to spring a surprise.
The yen was last up 1.1 percent at 104.11 per dollar, with all eyes on the BOJ’s policy decision, which is usually announced some time between 0230 GMT to 0500 GMT.
The Japanese government, which is crafting a fiscal stimulus package, has been lobbying hard for the BOJ to ease policy further and has prepared a statement it will publish in case the central bank eases.
« As the government is preparing a supplementary budget, the BOJ is perhaps feeling that they could maximize the impact of what little easing it can do by synchronising their moves, » said Daisuke Nomoto, senior portfolio manager at Columbia Threadneedle Investments in Boston.
Wall Street shares remained near all-time highs, with tech heavyweights Alphabet and Amazon rising after the bell as their earnings beat expectations .
The dollar index slipped 0.3 percent to 96.452, putting it on track for a slide of 0.5 percent for the week, but a gain of 0.3 percent for the month.
European shares fell on Thursday, however, as markets awaited the release of the stress test results on European banks on Friday night.
The euro stood little changed at $1.1085. It is up almost 1 percent this week, but poised for a 0.2 percent loss in July.
Elsewhere in markets, oil prices fell to three-month lows, with U.S. benchmark now down more than 20 percent from this year’s peak on growing worries that the world might be pumping more crude than needed.
U.S. crude futures fell to as low as $40.95 per barrel and were last down 0.2 percent at $41.06. It’s set for a drop of 6.8 percent for the week and 15 percent in July.
International benchmark Brent crude futures dropped 0.1 percent to $42.64. It is down 6.7 percent this week and 14 percent this month.
Consumers seen powering U.S. economic growth in second quarterThe U.S. economy likely regained speed in the second quarter as robust consumer spending offset a sharp moderation in inventory investment and weak exports, pointing to underlying growth momentum that could be maintained for the rest of the year.
Gross domestic product probably increased at a 2.6 percent annual rate, which would be the fastest in a year, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The economy grew at a 1.1 percent pace in the first quarter.
« The economy clearly bounced back in the second quarter because consumers put the economy on their backs. Things are falling in place, the economy will continue to move forward, » said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
The Commerce Department will publish its advance second-quarter GDP growth estimate on Friday at 08:30 a.m. (1230 GMT).
There are, however, downside risks to the forecast after data this week showed weak orders for manufactured capital goods in June, as well as a widening in the goods trade deficit and moderate inventory accumulation.
With the Federal Reserve watching the labor market and persistently low inflation, a pick-up in growth in the second quarter, which officials at the central bank are also anticipating, is not expected to have an impact on the outlook for interest rates in the short term.
The Fed, which on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged, said near-term risks to the economic outlook had « diminished. » The Fed raised its benchmark overnight interest rate in December for the first time in nearly a decade.
« The worry for the Fed is that you have a two-sided economy with strong consumer spending but weak investment. They will continue to put a rate hike on the table but they will end up procrastinating, » said Thomas Costerg, a senior U.S. economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York.
CONSUMERS SHINE With the second-quarter GDP snapshot, the government will also publish revisions to data going back to 2013 through the first quarter of 2016. The revisions are expected to partially address measurement issues, which have tended to lower first-quarter GDP estimates.
Consumer spending was likely responsible for almost all of the rebound in GDP growth last quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, is expected to have increased at its fastest pace since 2006.
That rate of growth is probably unsustainable, but economists say a tightening labor market, rising house prices and higher savings should underpin spending for the rest of 2016.
« There are good reasons to expect strong consumption, » said Anthony Karydakis, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak in New York. « As long as you see the strength in consumption continuing, that gives a very reliable marker of the underlying momentum in the economy. » Economists expect a marginal impact on growth from Britain’s departure from the European Union. They estimate that the so-called Brexit could subtract about two-tenths of a percentage point from GDP growth over the next year.
Businesses likely pulled back sharply on their pace of inventory accumulation, which could result in inventory investment subtracting as much as one percentage point from GDP growth. That would be the fourth straight quarter that inventories have weighed on output.
But a smaller inventory build is a good signal for growth in the coming quarters.
The lingering effects of the dollar’s rally and weak global demand probably continued to hobble exports in the second quarter, while imports poured in to meet robust domestic demand.
Trade is expected to have been a drag on GDP growth after making a modest contribution in the first quarter.
Business spending is expected to have contracted for a third consecutive quarter, the longest stretch since the 2007-2009 recession, though the pace of decline likely slowed.
Business spending has been hurt by lower oil prices, which have squeezed profits in the energy sector, forcing companies to cut capital spending budgets. Economists say uncertainty over global demand and the upcoming U.S. presidential election are also making companies cautious about spending. Investment in residential construction and spending by the government likely fell in the second quarter. Economists say the decline will be payback after strong gains in the first quarter.
New York Fed asks Philippines to recover Bangladesh moneyThe Federal Reserve Bank of New York has asked the Philippines’ central bank to help Bangladesh Bank recover the $81 million that was stolen by hackers in February from its account held at the Fed, boosting Dhaka’s efforts to retrieve the money.
In a letter sent on June 23, the New York Fed’s General Counsel Thomas Baxter asked Elmore O. Capule, general counsel for the central bank of the Philippines, « to take all appropriate steps in support of Bangladesh Bank’s efforts to recover and return its stolen assets. » In the letter, which has been seen by Reuters, Baxter also wrote that the payment instructions that led to four money transfers to beneficiary accounts at the Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) were authenticated using a « commercially reasonable security procedure », but that they were issued by persons using stolen credentials.
Bangladesh Bank has also agreed to share with the Fed a report into the heist that was prepared by U.S. cyber security firm FireEye, said a source close to the Bangladesh central bank with direct knowledge of the decision. Officials in the United States have been asking for that for some weeks.
The New York Fed had no immediate comment on the letter nor on the FireEye report.
Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha could not immediately be contacted for comment outside regular business hours.
The Philippines’ central bank said it would not comment in a case in which there were ongoing investigations. RCBC said in a statement the bank supported the efforts of Bangladesh Bank in recovering funds from « the parties who ultimately received them ».
After going to RCBC, the money was mostly laundered through the Philippines’ casino industry and now the trail has gone cold.
Almost six months have passed since hackers broke into the Bangladesh central bank’s computer systems and sought to transfer away as much as $951 million – eventually managing to steal $81 million in one of the biggest-ever cyber heists. Most of that money is still missing and the culprits have not been identified.
There has also been friction between Bangladesh Bank, the New York Fed and payments network SWIFT, over which the payment instructions were issued. But relations seem to improving to an extent, at least between the New York Fed and Dhaka.
CASINO INDUSTRY LAUNDERING A source close to Bangladesh Bank who has direct knowledge of the recovery process said some Bangladesh Bank officials will fly to Manila next week in an attempt to hasten the recovery.
The source said Baxter’s letter was an indication that the Fed was now working with Bangladesh Bank after initially holding the South Asian bank responsible for the heist.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir told reporters on Tuesday that his Philippine counterpart had nearly completed an investigation into how the $81 million wound up at RCBC, and that he hoped for the swift return of the stolen funds.
Kabir also said he hoped the Philippine authorities would hold RCBC responsible for disbursing the stolen funds that landed in accounts there.
RCBC has blamed the manager of the branch where the funds were transferred.
« We had these rogue employees or officers that were able to do these things, » Cesar Virata, corporate vice chairman of RCBC, told Reuters this week. « It can happen to any bank. » He added: « I think the Bangladesh government should find out first who was responsible for remitting their funds. » In another sign of improving cooperation between Bangladesh Bank and the New York Fed, a team of officials from Bangladesh will hold meetings with Fed officials in New York between Aug.
15 and Aug. 19, according to two sources in Dhaka.
The « technical » meeting will discuss more about the heist and look at processes to be put in place to prevent such events from happening in future, said the source close to Bangladesh Bank.
A New York Fed official who requested anonymity said the goal of the meeting « is to understand what happened, what remediation steps have been taken by Bangladesh Bank to meet its contractual obligations, and to begin a path to normalize operations. » The initial FireEye report submitted to Bangladesh Bank in March and seen by Reuters had blamed a sophisticated third party for the attack and had identified around 35 « compromised » Bangladesh Bank assets.
In speech of her life, Clinton promises a ‘clear-eyed’ visionU.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Thursday Americans faced challenges at home and abroad that demand steady leadership and a collective spirit, and attacked Republican Donald Trump for sowing fear and divisiveness.
In the biggest speech of her more than 25-year-old career in the public eye, Clinton accepted the Democratic presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election with a promise to make the United States a country that worked for everyone.
« We are clear-eyed about what our country is up against. But we are not afraid, » she said.
She presented a sharply more upbeat view of the country than the dark vision Trump offered at last week’s Republican convention, and even turned one of Republican hero Ronald Reagan’s signature phrases against the real estate developer.
« He’s taken the Republican Party a long way, from ‘Morning in America’ to ‘Midnight in America,' » Clinton said. « He wants to divide us – from the rest of the world, and from each other.
He’s betting that the perils of today’s world will blind us to its unlimited promise. » The speech was Clinton’s turn in the spotlight after three days of electrifying appearances by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama, and Clinton acknowledged that some people still do not know her well.
« I get it that some people just don’t know what to make of me. So let me tell you. The family I’m from, well no one had their name on big buildings, » Clinton said in a reference to Trump. She said her family were builders of a better life and a better future for their children, using whatever tools they had and « whatever God gave them. » As she prepared to deliver her speech, people familiar with the matter said the FBI is investigating a cyber attack against another Democratic Party group, which may be related to an earlier hack against the Democratic National Committee.
The previously unreported incident at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, and its potential ties to Russian hackers, are likely to heighten accusations, so far unproven, that Moscow is trying to meddle in the U.S.election to help Trump.
Clinton said it would be her « primary mission » to create more opportunities and more good jobs with rising wages, and to confront stark choices in battling determined enemies and « threats and turbulence » around the world and at home.
« America is once again at a moment of reckoning. Powerful forces are threatening to pull us apart. Bonds of trust and respect are fraying, » said Clinton, a former secretary of state.
« No wonder people are anxious and looking for reassurance – looking for steady leadership. » Clinton, who is vying to be the first woman elected U.S.
president, called her nomination « a milestone » and said she was happy for grandmothers and little girls and « everyone in between. » « When any barrier falls in America, it clears the way for everyone, » the 68-year-old Clinton said in a speech that capped the four-day nominating convention.
Trump, a 70-year-old reality TV show host who has never held political office, is running just ahead of Clinton in a RealClearPolitics average of recent national opinion polls. They both garner high « unpopularity » ratings.
At a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Trump said he was being criticized at the Democratic convention by people who had been friendly to him before.
« I think we’ll stay here all night because I don’t really want to go home and watch that crap, » he said.
Inside the arena, it sounded at times more like a traditional Republican convention than a Democratic one. During retired General John Allen’s remarks, chants of « USA! » filled the hall and large flags were brought in to be waved. Speakers, some of whom included military and police officers, made frequent mentions of religion and patriotism.
« I certainly know that with her as our commander-in-chief, our foreign relations will not be reduced to a business transaction, I also know that our armed forces will not become an instrument of torture, » said Allen.
Trump has portrayed the country as being under siege from illegal immigrants, crime and terrorism and as losing influence in the world. He has proposed a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country and a wall along the border with Mexico to keep illegal immigrants out.
Khizr Kahn, a Muslim whose son was one of 14 Muslims killed while serving in the military since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, drew cheers when he pulled out a pocket copy of the U.S.
Constitution and said he wanted to show it to Trump.
« Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son the best of America. If it was up to Donald Trump he never would have been in America. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims, » he said.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio called Trump a hypocrite who talked about opposing free trade deals to protect American workers but had the products sold by his companies made overseas.
« Now I’ve been fighting for a trade agenda for more than 20 years that puts American workers first and I can tell you that in all those years I’ve never ever seen Donald Trump, » said Brown, one of the most liberal members of the Senate. « The only thing I’ve seen Donald Trump do when it comes to U.S. trade policy is run his mouth and line his pockets, » Brown said.
For inspiration, new Democratic stars look to Elizabeth Warren Twelve years ago, Barack Obama’s electrifying speech at the Democratic National Convention brought tears to Andrew Gillum’s eyes.
Now mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, and viewed as a rising star in that state, Gillum did not hesitate when asked to name his political role model.
« Elizabeth Warren, » he replied, referring to the firebrand U.S. senator from Massachusetts.
That the 37-year-old African-American mayor of a Southern U.S. city identifies Warren as his political lodestar speaks volumes about the Democratic Party’s progressive shift, even as Hillary Clinton officially became its presidential nominee after a quarter-century in the public eye.
With the party in transition, Clinton’s 1990s-era brand of Democratic centrism is slowly being eclipsed by a wave of progressivism personified by Warren and by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, a rival of Clinton’s until he endorsed her this month.
Although Sanders’ insurgent presidential bid fell short, leaving his supporters bitterly disappointed, a new crop of Democratic candidates seems determined to carry on his work, with Warren, 67, as their putative leader.
Like Obama in 2004, Gillum and many others at the Philadelphia convention sought to boost their profiles, raise cash and network with fellow Democrats, buoyed by the adoption of the most progressive platform in party history, with planks for debt-free college, expanded Social Security benefits and a tax on carbon emissions.
Clinton, too, has moved to the left, embracing many of these causes, separating herself from a more moderate brand of Democratic politics personified by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, who was pro-free trade, friendlier to Wall Street and emphasized budget discipline.
She appealed to Sanders supporters during her speech accepting the party’s presidential nomination on Thursday, pledging to work with him on progressive issues. « Let’s go out there and make it happen together, » Clinton said.
Sarah Lloyd, 44, a congressional candidate in Wisconsin who supported Sanders, said, « There is an energy that’s coming from the folks that were brought to the process by the Sanders campaign…. That can only be a positive thing for the party. »
TAKING THE LEAD More than Sanders, Warren has taken the lead in shaping the Democrats’ next generation. Formerly a professor of law, Warren conceived and set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau formed in 2011 under President Obama.
She launched a political action committee to back Democratic candidates and inspired other advocacy groups, such as the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, to solicit donations to a bloc it terms the party’s « Warren wing. » A speaker at the convention, Florida’s Gillum was frustrated by Sanders because he seemed disinterested in helping other Democratic candidates, in contrast with Warren.
« Senator Sanders was content to be a movement by himself, » Gillum said. « It’s a revolution when you bring people along with you. » Warren’s committee has donated to the campaigns of U.S.
Senate hopefuls such as Kamala Harris, 51, of California, Jason Kander, 35, of Missouri, and Catherine Cortez Masto, 52, of Nevada. They and Wisconsin’s Lloyd oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the global trade deal that has split the progressive and moderate elements of the party.
The PCCC’s slate of « Warren wing » candidates supports a $15-an-hour minimum wage, campaign-finance reform and tighter rules for Wall Street.
One of those on the slate is Zephyr Teachout, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York, who has campaigned in a T-shirt that reads, « I’m from the Elizabeth Warren wing of the party » and who has been endorsed by Sanders.
« There is a rising and very important populism, talking about money in politics, talking about trade, talking about economic issues, » Teachout, 44, told Reuters. « Within the party, and across the board, there has been a serious rethinking of trade, rethinking of big banks, rethinking of monopolies that have too much power. » Tulsi Gabbard, a U.S. representative from Hawaii, is often mentioned by Sanders supporters as one who could assume his mantle. A cable-news regular, Gabbard, 35, was one of a few Sanders supporters offered a convention speaking slot. Onstage she formally nominated Sanders for president, saying he had become a « voice for millions, connecting seamlessly with laborers in the Rust Belt and environmentalists in the West. » Other rising Democratic progressives frequently cited by strategists include Julian Castro, 41, the U.S. housing secretary, and his twin brother, Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas, former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, 48, U.S. Senate candidate Pramila Jayapal, 50, of Washington, and former South Carolina lawmaker Bakari Sellers, 31.
BRIGHTER THAN THE REST? Harris might be the one to shine the brightest. As California’s attorney general, Harris has been mentioned as a potential U.S. presidential candidate or U.S. Supreme Court justice should she win her Senate race in November.
She enjoys the support of Warren, Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent, suggesting she can appeal to both the party’s liberal and moderate flanks.
She joined forces with Bloomberg in his crusade for tighter gun laws, bonded with Warren over helping homeowners struggling through the foreclosure crisis of the late 2000s and joined Obama’s efforts to overhaul a criminal justice system that tends to treat black citizens more harshly than white ones.
In one campaign ad, Warren is viewed saying, « Kamala Harris was fearless. » Harris, in turn, has backed Clinton. In an interview, she rejected the idea that the party is leaving Clinton behind even as it nominates her for president. « I strongly believe that these two generations have much more in common than what separates them in terms of fundamental values, » Harris said.
Billionaire Republican donors urge Kochs to back Trump A group of at least six wealthy Republican donors is urging the billionaire Koch brothers to step off the sidelines of the U.S. presidential election to back Donald Trump, arguing they will want influence with the New York businessman they have harshly criticized if he wins the White House in November.
The financiers, prominent members of the sprawling 700-member Koch donor network, have been making their case in emails and phone calls to Charles and David Koch ahead of their bi-annual donor seminar, which begins Saturday in Colorado, according to four donors involved in the loosely-coordinated effort and advisers representing two others.
An endorsement from the Kochs would be a radical departure: The industrialist brothers have railed against Trump’s « monstrous » rhetoric and protectionist policies on immigration and trade. They have said they will not get involved in the presidential election and will instead focus on Senate races.
All the while, Trump has blasted the donor class and vowed not to become a « puppet » of outside interests as he campaigns to win the Nov. 8 election.
But there is room for a detente.
Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, has long been a darling of the Koch network, and Trump’s fledgling campaign finance operation could use a cash injection as it faces a $1 billion general election battle against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
« I don’t think it’s impossible, or beyond the realm of possibility, that at some point the Kochs are going to get involved, » said Doug Deason, a member of the Koch network.
Deason, who has met with Trump and his confidantes, said he and his father, the billionaire Darwin Deason, had proposed to Charles Koch in an email that he meet the Republican nominee in person.
« We think it’s really important that Donald convince Charles he’s the right guy, and for Charles to influence Donald’s policies, » said Deason. Charles Koch « indicates he’s taking a wait and see approach. He’s not completely writing if off. » An adviser to another major Koch network donor added: « Some of the Koch donor class this weekend is surely going to say, ‘Hey, guys, get on board.' » A spokesperson for Trump, who is scheduled to hold two campaign events in Colorado on Friday, did not respond to a request for comment. James Davis, a spokesman for the Koch’s political operation, Freedom Partners Action Fund, declined comment.
The billionaire donors eyeing Trump stress they believe it is urgent for the Koch brothers’ conservative thinking to start to influence Trump before the election while he is still fine-tuning policy and considering possible Cabinet picks.
MIX OF OPINIONS The Koch network, made up of the wealthiest conservative families in America, rivals both the Republican and Democratic parties in both its resources and scope. Membership requires a payment of at least $100,000 per year.
But it is by no means a monolithic group.
At their donor summit last January in Palm Springs, California, most donors seemed vehemently opposed to Trump among the large field of other Republican options. But now that Trump has won the nomination, vanquishing 16 opponents in the primaries, some see little option but to back him.
Broadcast magnate Stanley Hubbard, who had opposed Trump earlier in the year but now wants the Kochs to support him, said he was most concerned by the prospect of a Democrat nominating people to vacancies on the Supreme Court.
« A lot of us are giving a lot of money to the Kochs, and what we would expect is that they would do all they can to see to it that the right Supreme Court justices are selected, » Hubbard said. « Supreme Court justices will last a lot longer than any president. » He said he hoped the weekend confab in Colorado would persuade the Kochs to rethink Trump. « If nothing else, the Kochs better ask for a show of hands, » said Hubbard, « and I think most people in the room this weekend will say, ‘Yes, you need to get involved.' ».
Russia to U.S., Trump Sort out your own pre-election hacking scandal Russia told the United States on Thursday to get to the bottom of a hacking scandal involving Democratic Party emails itself and rejected what Donald Trump said was a sarcastic suggestion that Moscow should dig up Hillary Clinton’s « missing » emails.
Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential candidate, angered Democrats on Wednesday by inviting Russia to unearth tens of thousands of emails from rival Clinton’s tenure as U.S.secretary of state.
He spoke out after President Barack Obama said it was possible Russia might try to influence the Nov. 8 U.S.
presidential election after a leak of Democratic National Committee emails that experts blamed on Russian hackers.
Suggestions of Russian involvement have riled the Kremlin, which has categorically denied this and accused U.S. politicians of seeking to play on Cold War-style American fears of Moscow by fabricating stories for electoral purposes.
President Vladimir Putin has tried to avoid giving the impression of favouring any U.S. candidate, while hailing the populist Trump as being « very talented ». Russian state TV coverage has tended to tilt towards Trump over Clinton.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said accusations of a Russian hand in hacking Democratic Party emails bordered on « total stupidity » and were motivated by anti-Russian sentiment. He rejected Trump’s apparently sarcastic suggestion for Russia to dig up Clinton’s emails point-blank.
« As regards these (email) batches, that is not our headache.
We never poke our noses into others’ affairs and we really don’t like it when people try to poke their nose into ours, » he said.
« The Americans need to get to the bottom of what these emails are themselves and find out what it’s all about. » Trump, who has repeatedly said he would strive for better U.S. relations with Russia if he won the presidency, also raised eyebrows by saying he would consider recognising Ukraine’s Crimea as part of Russia, which annexed the region in 2014.
Peskov said the Kremlin was unmoved by that comment, and it would not change what he says has been its neutral stance on U.S. presidential candidates.
« We know perfectly well that candidates in the heat of a pre-election struggle say one thing, but that later, when under the weight of responsibility, their rhetoric becomes more balanced. » In response to Trump’s remarks on Crimea, Ukraine’s U.N.
Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko said on Thursday: « Mr. Trump is not the president of the United States, at least not yet. » « Secondly, there are the well-known decisions of the United Nations. … I’m pretty sure that any U.S. government will pay full respect to those decisions, » he told reporters.
In March 2014, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring invalid Crimea’s Moscow-backed referendum seceding from Ukraine.
Analysts say the Kremlin would welcome a Trump victory in November because the wealthy New York businessman has repeatedly praised Putin, spoken of wanting to get along with Russia, and has said he would consider an alliance with Moscow against Islamic State.
Trump’s suggestion that he might abandon NATO’s pledge to automatically defend all member states is also likely to have gone down well in Moscow, where the Western military alliance is cast as an outdated Cold War relic.
Indian ‘orphans’ face abuse, neglect in Tamil Nadu care homes, activists say Dhanalakshmi was 14 and pregnant when she was rescued from a children’s home in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
She had been entrusted in the care of the unregistered institution by her mother, a ragpicker who could no longer afford another mouth to feed.
But instead of receiving protection, the teenager was raped for months by staff in the home, according to a report by a committee set up by the local social welfare department to investigate the matter.
« Her story blew the lid off something we have known for a long time, » said Zaheeruddin Mohammad, a member of the committee that also fought for the rights of the girl to be protected.
« Inside unregistered homes, there is rampant abuse and little care for the needs of a child. » State authorities have closed 500 homes since 2011, citing mismanagement, a lack of registration and misconduct but human rights groups say abuse is rife across the 1,500 government and state institutions in the state.
Rights groups have long complained that children’s homes in India are poorly regulated, not inspected often enough, and that many privately-run institutions are able to operate without a licence leaving thousands of children open to mistreatment.
The scope of the problem was outlined in a petition filed in Chennai’s High Court by A. Narayanan, the director of advocacy group CHANGEindia.
« Not a week passes without news of neglect, physical violence such as torture and branding with iron, sexual abuse including rape, murder and suicides in child care homes in Tamil Nadu, » the affidavit said.
« PULL OF GOOD EDUCATION » Child rights campaigners estimate that 200,000 children in Tamil Nadu are residents of private orphanages, state-supported care homes, Islamic madrassas, temples and hostels.
Many children are not orphans but placed in institutional care by their parents too poor to feed, clothe and shelter them.
« An increasing number of these children are from marginalised families, » CHANGEindia’s Narayanan told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
« The parents are lured by the pull of good education and promise of better care for their children. They are relying on institutional care. » Various reports submitted to the government in the past five years have warned of shoddy conditions in children’s homes – from poor lighting and cramped accommodation to violence.
In the majority of reported cases, the perpetrators of abuse have been wardens, watchmen, cooks and other staff.
Tamil Nadu government officials have said in court that they were looking at the recommendations made by campaigners, which include better monitoring of homes, individual child care plans, more counsellors and encouraging the idea of foster care.
In one of the latest closures, state authorities shut down after another privately-run institution housing 32 children near the port city of Chennai last month after complaints of mismanagement.
« These organisations have become organised rackets, » Narayanan said.
« There are many organisations which have a valid registration but no child care plan, no counsellors and no expertise on how to fulfill a child’s emotional needs. » MISREPRESENTED Children rescued in a separate operation on June 30, from an institution in Tambaram, near Chennai, described being made to clean toilets and eat « unpalatable » food, according to R.N.
Manikandan, chairman of a local child welfare committee.
He also said the children shared the same space as residents of a nursing home run by the same organisation, which also caused concern.
Child welfare committee members also raised questions about the babies they found in the premises during an earlier inspection, who are now missing.
According to Narayanan’s affidavit, many children from poor families were shown as destitute orphans in the records and « paraded » before potential adoptive parents and donors funding these homes.
In December, an unregistered home in Tiruchy was taken over by the social welfare department after a court directive.
The home had 90 children in its custody but no records with any government agency.
A wave of claims by people saying they were the children’s parents prompted a local court to rule that all the children should undergo DNA testing to establish their real families.
« Not all children in these homes are in need of the care they promise, » said Andrew Sesuraj, a director at the Tamil Nadu Child Rights Observatory.
He said there was no need for so many homes. « Foster care or support for the families to enable them to send their children to school is what is required. »
N. American forests not the climate change remedy hoped for – study North American forests will not fight climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide at levels once hoped for because the trees may not grow big enough, a study said on Wednesday.
The new research challenges previous studies that said trees could grow larger due to higher temperatures brought on by global warming, said the authors of the study published in the journal Ecology Letters.
Typically, up to a third of carbon-dioxide emissions from human activity, such as automobile driving or steel production, is absorbed by forests, the study’s authors said. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming.
But if temperatures get too high, tree growth is inhibited and the absorption rate diminishes, said senior author Margaret Evans, a professor at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
« There is a tipping point, » she said. « A warmer climate becomes a bad thing instead of a good thing. » Looking ahead at warmer temperatures likely in the coming decades, trees in the U.S. southwest north to the Rocky Mountains, Canada and Alaska could grow as much as 75 percent slower than normal by 2075, the researchers said.
By 2075, the average temperature in North America could be about 11 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) higher than it was in 1925, under a worst case scenario, the researchers said, using data from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Some increases in tree growth are still likely in the Pacific Northwest, parts of Florida, the northeastern part of Quebec in Canada and its maritime provinces, they said.
The researchers from U.S., Swiss and Polish institutions combined climate projections with tree rings collected between 1900 and 1950 at nearly 1,500 sites.
Tree rings, the layers grown each year, provide a record of how trees are affected by changes in temperature and rainfall patterns, they said.
Similar research could be done on northern forests in Europe and Asia, Evans said. The study is the first to account for how trees respond to climate change, lead author Noah Charney, a researcher at the University of Arizona in Tucson, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
(World news smmary compiled by Maghreb news staff)