Syria rebel factions to attend Russia, Turkey-backed talks

Syria rebel factions to attend Russia, Turkey-backed talks

Representatives of some Syrian rebel groups said Monday they will attend talks sponsored by Russia and Turkey scheduled later this month, despite mounting violations of a cease-fire across the war-ravaged country.

A rebel adviser said the talks between representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition, to be held in the Kazakhstan capital of Astana, will initially focus on ways to strengthen and monitor the cease-fire that went into effect Dec. 30.

Opposition activists have reported widespread violence around Syria. Although the scale of the violence was not comparable to the government-led, Russian-backed offensive against Aleppo that preceded the cease-fire, airstrikes and shelling were reported in at least eight of Syria’s 14 provinces Monday.

The cease-fire excludes areas where the militant Islamic State group operates. There, too, fighting raged as militants closed in on a government military base while Turkey-backed and Kurdish-backed fighters clashed with the extremist group in three provinces.

Faced with the ongoing violations, members of Syrian armed groups have been meeting in Turkey for days to decide on whether to participate and with what delegates. Syrian representatives said the Turkish government, one of the few remaining backers of the opposition, was keen on convening the talks. They are scheduled for Jan. 23. U.N. sponsored talks will follow in Geneva in February.

On Monday, Syrian rebel group members and an adviser to the fighting groups said the Astana talks will focus on violations of the cease-fire and ways to reinforce it.

« The first sessions will be to study the violations and implementation of the cease-fire, » said Molhem Akidi, a leading member of the Fastaqim group. The group was a leading fighting force in Aleppo before its fighters left as part of a Russia-Turkey brokered deal.

Akidi said the High Negotiations Committee, a political group that represented the opposition in the last Geneva talks, will provide support and technical help for the delegation.

Osama Abo Zayd, a legal adviser to the Free Syrian Army rebel groups, said the first round of talks will last for four days and focus solely on ways to monitor cease-fire violations.

Abo Zayd said Moscow has promised to rein in violations of the cease-fire by government and allied troops. If a mechanism is worked out, there will be a phase two of the talks, he told the opposition-linked Revolutionary Forces of Syria online. « If Russia doesn’t live up to its promises after phase one, Russia, Iran and the regime will be the main cause of fighting in Syria, » he said.

Abo Zayed and Akidi said Ahrar al-Sham, one of Syria’s largest rebel groups, was not participating in the talks but support the delegation going. The other powerful group, Fatah al-Sham Front, is not included in the cease-fire, according to the government, and is considered linked to al-Qaida.

The talks are considered a diplomatic feat for Moscow. After withstanding a crippling, months-long siege and punishing bombing campaign, the opposition surrendered one of its most prized urban centers, Aleppo. Rebel groups had control of nearly half of the city, once Syria’s commercial center, since 2012.

The United States was left out of the cease-fire agreement and it is not clear if the new administration will attend the talks next week.

Rebel fighters and government allied troops have exchanged blame on who is responsible for violating the current cease-fire.

On Monday, fighting mostly raged in the Barada Valley, near the Syrian capital. Clashes escalated between pro-government and opposition forces in and around a number of rebel-run villages as Syrian troops and allied militias advance toward the flashpoint area of Ain al-Fijeh, which holds the main water source for the Syrian capital.

Pro-government media reported new government advances southeast of Ain al-Fijeh.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the Syrian war, said there was fighting in Aleppo when rebel groups fired mortars at a government-held neighborhood. Airplanes bombed rebel areas outside the city and violence was also reported in six other provinces.

Also on Monday, the heads of several major U.N. organizations called for access to civilians cut off from humanitarian aid in Syria. The joint appeal urged an « immediate, unconditional and safe access » to all Syrians in need. According to the statement, up to 700,000 people — nearly half of them children — live in 15 besieged areas of Syria.

EU eyes UN-backed Syria conference in Brussels in April

The European Union wants to host a conference on the future of Syria this spring and is hoping that it can focus on rebuilding the war-torn country.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday that the preferred date for the meeting, to be held in tandem with the United Nations, would be in April.

Mogherini said that the conference would come after the planned restart of the Geneva peace talks and « could be a moment for the international community to turn the page and start the reconstruction of Syria. »

The conference, to be held in Brussels, would also take stock of whether international donors are respecting their pledges to Syria.

Top UN official: 10,000 civilians killed in Yemen conflict

The United Nations’ humanitarian aid official in Yemen said Monday that the civilian death toll in the nearly two-year conflict has reached 10,000, with 40,000 others wounded.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Jamie McGoldrick told reporters the figure is based on lists of victims gathered by health facilities and the actual number might be higher. This announcement marks the first time a U.N. official has confirmed such a high death toll in Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest nation. Earlier, the U.N. reported 4,200 civilians were killed in the war.

« This once more underscores the need to resolve the situation in Yemen without any further delay, » U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York. « There’s been a huge humanitarian cost. »

The Yemen conflict pits Shiite Houthi rebels and allied forces against a Saudi-led coalition. The coalition began an air campaign in March 2015 to restore the internationally recognized government that fled the country after Houthis seized the capital.

McGoldrick’s remarks come as U.N. Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed arrives in the southern city of Aden, which the government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has turned into a temporary capital, officials said.

According to Yemeni officials, Ahmed will present an amended peace deal to Hadi, who rejected the last initiative. That proposal was supported by the U.S. because it largely recognized the rebels and sidelined Hadi. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Haq, the U.N. spokesman, confirmed that Ahmed is scheduled to meet Hadi on Monday « and he will try to present him with the latest peace proposals. »

« This is something he’s been developing in dialogue with the various parties and that dialogue will continue, » he said, adding that he couldn’t provide any details. »

Peace efforts have stalled because of disagreements over a timeline. Hadi is pressing for an implementation to a U.N. Security Council resolution that stipulates the Houthis’ withdrawal from all cities and the handover of weapons. The Houthis are pressing for a political deal in which they would get a share of power for giving up land and arms.

Gunfire rattles Tehran as drone buzzes over Iranian capital

Sustained gunfire rang out over central Tehran on Monday afternoon as anti-aircraft guns targeted what officials said was a drone flying over the Iranian capital.

Many residents ran to rooftops and craned their necks to see what was happening. Others sought shelter as bursts of machine gun fire echoed through the streets.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Tehran Governor Isa Farhadi as saying that the gunfire targeted a drone near restricted airspace in the capital.

It wasn’t clear who owned the drone, which he described as a quadcopter. That suggests it may have been operated by a local hobbyist or aerial photographer rather than a foreign government. The purpose of its flight also wasn’t clear.

The drone escaped — apparently intact — as Gen. Alireza Elhami, deputy chief of Iran air defense headquarters, was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying the drone flew out of the restricted airspace once it came under fire.

This was not the first such recent incident.

On Dec. 23, residents of downtown Tehran awoke to the sound of anti-aircraft fire as the army shot down a state TV drone that officials said had flown too close to the residence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the implementation of Iran’s landmark nuclear deal with world powers, which gave the Islamic Republic relief from crippling economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

IS claims responsibility for killing of Jordan army officer

The extremist Islamic State group claimed responsibility Monday for a shooting attack it said killed a Jordanian soldier earlier this month.

The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant internet traffic, quoted the IS news agency Amaq as saying that an IS « security detachment » killed 1st Sgt. Bassam Hourani in the southern Maan province Jan. 6.

Jordan is fighting IS in Syria and Iraq as part of a U.S.-led military coalition. IS, in turn, has targeted pro-Western Jordan, including in a deadly December shooting.

A senior Jordanian security official disputed Monday’s IS claim about the Maan area shooting, saying it was a criminal act and had nothing to do with terrorism. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case with reporters.

In a statement a day after the Maan shooting, police did not identify the victim as a soldier, saying only he was a Jordanian citizen. They said he was collecting wood with his family when he was fatally shot near a road.

Police have said a suspect from the area is in custody and that the alleged assailant did not know the victim.

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Jordan tourism revenues stable at $4 bln last year despite militant attacks – Jordan’s tourism sector has proved resilient with revenues stable at $4 billion in 2016 year against the previous year despite several militant attacks, the tourism minister said on Monday.

Jordan hosted last year 3.8 million foreign visitors who spent in the country at least one night, a rise of 2.6 percent from the previous year, Lina Annab told reporters.

Annab said the sector was so far able to cushion itself from the repercussions of an attack last month in the southern city of Karak, with few signs of any significant drop in tourist arrivals from the region or Europe.

« It’s business as usual and the cancellations have been minimal. Unfortunately, as for danger there is no place that is 100 percent safe, » said Annab.

More than a dozen people were killed, including a Canadian tourist, in two attacks by Islamist militants in December in the southern city of Karak. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for the violence.

Three American servicemen were killed by a Jordanian guard in November. Washington issued a travel warning to Americans travelling to Jordan because of threats from militant groups, which Jordanian officials criticised as unnecessary.

Annab said her ministry was trying to offset any potential fallout by encouraging more Christian religious tourists to visit biblical sites and promoting the country as a regional hub for medical tourism.

Officials say the kingdom has drawn bigger numbers of tourists from Gulf Arab states in recent years, who have made up for the drop in package tours by European operators coming to the region due to political turmoil.

Tourism is one of the country’s main sources of foreign currency and constitutes around 10 percent of the country’s GDP. Investors have poured billions of dollars in the past decade into a string of hotels across the country.

Egypt court strikes down islands deal in blow to president

An Egyptian court on Monday ruled against the government’s attempt to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, an embarrassment for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi that could deepen tensions with his onetime Gulf patron.

The decision to transfer the uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir, announced alongside a Saudi aid package last year, fueled accusations of a sell-off and sparked the largest protests of el-Sissi’s two-and-a-half-year rule.

The deal was signed last April during a visit by Saudi King Salman, who announced billions of dollars in Saudi loans and investment. The government insists the islands always belonged to Saudi Arabia and were merely placed under Egypt’s protection in the 1950s.

But the Supreme Administrative Court, in a unanimous verdict, upheld a lower court’s ruling that the move was unconstitutional. It said the islands were Egyptian and that the government provided no documents to prove otherwise.

The ruling marks a major setback for el-Sissi, who rode to power on a surge of nationalism after leading the 2013 military overthrow of Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt’s first freely elected president.

El-Sissi has since presided over a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, banning all unauthorized protests and jailing thousands. But the islands deal has galvanized opposition among many of his former supporters, and hundreds took to the streets last April after it was announced.

Monday’s verdict was met with an eruption of cheers from activists and lawyers in the Nile-side Cairo courtroom, with some singing the national anthem and chanting patriotic slogans.

Khaled Ali, a former presidential candidate and the head lawyer contesting the deal, was lifted onto the shoulders of supporters while flashing the V-for-victory sign and chanting: « The land is Egyptian. »

« The verdict is a message to el-Sissi: ‘Shame, shame on you!' » Azza Suliman, a prominent women’s rights activist, said outside the courthouse.

A small number of activists nearby chanted: « Saudi Arabia, take your money back, for tomorrow, the Egyptian people will trample on you. » Minor scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators.

« The legitimacy of this regime is on the line, » said Malek Adly, one of the top lawyers who contested the agreement.

The government was already under mounting pressure following a series of austerity measures enacted late last year in order to secure $12 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund.

The decision to slash fuel subsidies and float the local currency has sent the prices of basic goods soaring in Egypt, where nearly a third of population lives below the poverty line.

The government’s turn to the IMF came amid souring relations with Saudi Arabia, which along with other Gulf countries provided billions of dollars in aid after Morsi’s ouster in 2013.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are split over Syria, where Cairo views the government as a bulwark against Islamic extremists and Saudi Arabia supports the rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad. Saudi commentators have also accused Egypt of doing little to aid the Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite rebels in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia cut off fuel shipments to Egypt in September after Cairo backed a U.N. resolution on Syria that was opposed by the kingdom.

In an apparent attempt to mend ties, the Egyptian government sent the islands deal to parliament for ratification despite the lower court’s verdict, but analysts say the damage was done.

« The Saudis didn’t want to watch the entire game and went ahead with the penalties, » analyst Yasser Abdel-Aziz said.

The government’s options are now limited. It can appeal to the Supreme Constitutional Court, arguing that the president has the right to conclude such a deal, or submit the entire agreement to international arbitration.

El-Sissi could also issue a new decree, but that would be subject to judicial review, and lawyers opposed to the transfer have vowed to continue pursuing the case.

Tamer el-Shahawi, an el-Sissi supporter in parliament, said the court ruling would likely prevent parliament from ratifying the deal. « The government has managed this case in a very poor way, » he said.

Egypt says gunmen kill 8 policemen at desert checkpoint

The Egyptian Interior Ministry says gunmen have attacked a police checkpoint in the country’s desert west, killing eight policemen.

In a statement late Monday, the ministry says three other officers were wounded in the attack, which it blames on what it calls a band of terrorists.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of Islamic militants.

The attack was in the remote Wadi al-Jadid province and came a week after eight other policemen were killed by Islamic State militants in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.

Egyptian security forces have been battling IS-led militants in Sinai for years, but the insurgency has grown deadlier and more widespread over the last three years.

Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank clashes

The Israeli military says border police shot and killed the « main instigator » of clashes on Monday in which hundreds of Palestinians threw rocks at security forces in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the deceased as 17-year-old Qusai Hassan Al-Aamour.

A wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence erupted in the fall of 2015. In that time, Palestinian attackers have carried out numerous stabbings, shootings and car-ramming assaults that killed 40 Israelis and two visiting Americans.

Israeli forces have killed 232 Palestinians in the same period, most of them identified by Israel as attackers, while the rest were taking part in violent demonstrations or clashes with security forces.

Mideast tensions have been heightened in anticipation of the new U.S. administration. Israel has expressed hope that Donald Trump will be more supportive than his predecessor, while the Palestinians fear he will tolerate Israeli settlement activity and move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem.

A close associate of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Trump’s presidency offers the chance to bring the Palestinians back into peace negotiations with more « realistic » expectations.

Regional Cooperation Minister Tzahi Hanegbi said that by pressuring Israel, the Obama administration encouraged the Palestinians to adopt more extreme positions.

The Palestinians have blamed the failure of peace efforts on Israel, saying its expansion of Jewish settlements on occupied territory undermines the prospects for a two-state solution.

The last round of U.S.-mediated peace talks collapsed in 2014.

Bahrain bans paper from publishing online after protests

Bahraini authorities ordered an independent newspaper to stop publishing online Monday and said a city hall was set ablaze during clashes between opposition protesters and police.
The suspension of Al-Wasat’s online operations followed a spike in anti-government protests led by the country’s Shiite majority that began Saturday. The demonstrations accelerated after three men convicted of a deadly bombing targeting police were put to death Sunday.

Opposition activists allege that the condemned men were tortured and see their executions — the first since 2010 — as inflammatory and politically motivated.

Bahrain’s Information Affairs Authority issued an edict barring Al-Wasat from publishing online Monday evening and said the ban would remain in place until further notice. The ban did not appear to affect the print edition of the paper.

It said it acted « due to repeated publication of material inciting division in the community, jeopardizing national unity and disrupting public peace, » according to a brief statement carried on the official Bahrain News Agency.

The paper’s editor in chief, Mansoor al-Jamri, suggested the decision had taken the paper by surprise.

« We’re trying to get information from the authorities on their points of concern, » he said.

Al-Wasat is widely seen as the only independent newspaper in Bahrain. It has been ordered shut twice since an Arab Spring-inspired uprising against the Sunni-led government erupted in 2011.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said the blaze at the Northern City Hall appeared intentional and was contained by firefighters.

Hundreds protested Sunday over the three Shiite men put to death by firing squad over the 2014 bombing that killed two Bahraini policemen and an Emirati officer. Some youth threw gasoline bombs and clashed with police into the night. Police fired tear gas and birdshot.

Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet and an under-construction British naval base.

Greece: 2nd man dies on freezing migrant route near Turkey

Police in a region of Greece that borders Turkey say another person has died of hypothermia on a route used by migrant smugglers despite freezing temperatures.

Authorities said the body of a man was discovered buried in snow outside a Greek village on Monday. They think he probably died over the weekend.

The man was the second to succumb to the cold in less than two weeks. Another died of hypothermia in the same area on Jan. 3.

In a separate incident, a migrant man was being treated at a nearby hospital for symptoms of frostbite.

Greek authorities have reported a recent surge in the number of people attempting to reach Europe while avoiding detention on the Greek islands by crossing a river that divides Turkey and Greece.

UN experts: Sudan’s Darfur conflict now limited to 1 area The 13-year conflict in Sudan’s vast Darfur region is now limited to the Jebel Marra area as a result of the government’s successful counter-insurgency strategy against two rebel groups, U.N. experts said in a report circulated Monday.

The experts said Sudanese military action has forced the Justice and Equality Movement or JEM to leave Darfur and operate mostly in neighboring South Sudan and the Sudanese Liberation Army faction led by Minni Minawi to operate mainly across the border in Libya.

In Jebel Marra, forces loyal to the Sudan Liberation Army’s founder Abdul Wahid Elnur continue to hold pockets of territory and fight government forces, the experts said in the report to the U.N. Security Council.

Darfur, which is the size of Spain, has been in turmoil since 2003, when ethnic Africans rebelled, accusing the Arab-dominated Sudanese government of discrimination. Khartoum is accused of retaliating by arming local nomadic Arab tribes known as the janjaweed and unleashing them on civilian populations — a charge the government denies.

In addition to Jebel Marra, the experts said « localized intercommunal violence, militia activity and banditry have continued unabated in the five states of Darfur. »

The United Nations says at least 300,000 people have died in the conflict and the panel said humanitarian experts estimate over 2.6 million have fled their homes.

The experts said the government has pursued a peace agreement on its own terms with JEM, which it said has been based in South Sudan since 2012-2013 with support from its government, and Minawi’s SLA fighters, which it said has been in Libya since mid-2015 according to reliable sources. So far, government peace efforts have failed.

« Away from the military pressure of the government of Sudan, » the experts said, « they aim to rebuild their capability using the revenues obtained from their current mercenary and criminal activities. »

In Jebel Marra, the experts said Elnur’s SLA fighters continue to fight even though they are weakened and are unlikely to join the peace process in the near future. They added that his rebels’ losses « have fueled tensions » about his leadership and strategy and sparked some defections.

The government has blocked the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force known as UNAMID from Jebel Marra, and the experts said they have not received promised visas to visit Darfur.

When they do, they said they plan to investigate allegations that government forces carried out aerial bombings in Jebel Marra with air-to-ground weapons in possible violation of a U.N. ban on offensive military overflights and an arms embargo.

The experts also plan to investigate possible violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and allegations by Amnesty International in September that Sudan used chemical weapons in its offensive in Jebel Marra — which the government has denied.

The experts’ report follows the Obama administration’s announcement last Friday that it was ending the U.S. economic embargo on Sudan and lifting trade and financial sanctions in an effort to expand ties with the long-estranged government and build on positive signs of cooperation against Islamic extremism.

UN report says numerous abuses have occurred in South Sudan

South Sudanese government and opposition soldiers « blatantly ignored » international law during clashes in July that killed hundreds of people, according to a United Nations human rights investigation.

The South Sudanese military swarmed throughout the capital with house-to-house searches and used language tests to identify civilians from different tribes, at times executing them on the spot, said the investigation by the U.N. Human Rights Office and the U.N. mission in South Sudan.

The report detailed how government soldiers targeted civilians sheltering in U.N. displacement camps, describing one case in which soldiers executed two men trying to reach safety and another where 28 women, including 12 girls, were raped by soldiers near the camps. The U.N. findings back up earlier reporting by The Associated Press of human rights abuses in South Sudan.

The clashes began on July 8th after soldiers loyal to President Salva Kiir fought forces loyal to rebel leader Riek Machar, who fled the capital on July 11th.

From the time fighting started until July 25th, the U.N. recorded 217 victims of sexual violence by government soldiers, police officers, or national security members. In one instance, « women and girls were ordered to cook for the soldiers at checkpoints when their friends or family members were raped, » the investigation said.

A spokesman for South Sudan’s military, Santo Domic Chol, said he could not comment on the report because had not read it.

South Sudan’s government has not followed through on promises to fully investigate crimes committed during the conflict, according to the report.

The July fighting set off further clashes throughout South Sudan. Recently the U.N. warned that South Sudan is experiencing ethnic cleansing and is at risk of genocide. South Sudan’s civil war began in December 2013, and has killed tens of thousands of people.

Oman receives 10 prisoners from Guantanamo: ministry

Oman said it received 10 inmates from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay Monday, as outgoing President Barack Obama looks to reduce the number of prisoners there before leaving office.

Neither the sultanate’s foreign ministry nor the US defence official who confirmed the transfer would disclose the nationality of the inmates who would reside in the Gulf Arab country on a temporary basis.

« At the request of Sultan Qaboos and the US government for a solution to the question of Guantanamo detainees, 10 of these detainees arrived today in the sultanate to reside here temporarily, » the ministry said, quoted by the official ONA news agency.

In Washington, the US official said: « We can confirm the transfer of 10 detainees from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the government of Oman. We have nothing further at this time. »

The latest transfers leave the number of Guantanamo detainees at 45, according to the official.

Ten days ago, four Yemenis were sent from the US prison on Cuban soil to Saudi Arabia.

Early this month, Obama’s spokesman Josh Earnest said he would expect « additional transfers » before the Democrat hands power to President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.

Obama vowed to close the Guantanamo detention facility when he took office in 2009, arguing that detention without trial did not reflect American values.

But faced with Pentagon foot-dragging and stubborn Republican opposition to shutting down the prison, his administration has focused on whittling down the number of inmates.

Trump has called for a freeze on transfers.

On January 3, he tweeted that « there should be no further releases from Gitmo. These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back onto the battlefield. »

Only a handful of those who remain at the prison have started moving through US military tribunals, including the alleged plotters of the 9/11 attacks.

Others remain in legal limbo — not charged but deemed too dangerous to release.

UN chief: Consider sanctions on those thwarting Mali peace Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urging the U.N. Security Council to consider imposing sanctions on key players in Mali who are obstructing implementation of a 2015 peace agreement if there are no immediate results on the ground.

The new U.N. chief said in a report to the council circulated Monday that progress in implementing the peace deal between the government and rebel groups remains too slow.

« The peace process in Mali is at a critical juncture, » he said. « Notwithstanding some progress made over the past 18 months … the signatory parties continue to disagree on key interim measures, thus stalling the process for all other provisions. »

Guterres said that amid renewed fighting between a government-allied militia known as the Platform and a coalition of groups seeking autonomy in northern Mali that includes ethnic Arabs and Tuaregs, key provisions of the agreement have not been put in place. He cited the failure to establish interim authorities and mixed patrols as well as the postponement of a national reconciliation conference scheduled for December.

The Tuareg rebellion in Mali’s far north has been a source of conflict for decades with the government.

A 2012 uprising was blamed for prompting mutinous soldiers to overthrow Mali’s president of a decade, creating a power vacuum that ultimately led to an Islamic insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. But Jihadists remain active in the region more than three years later, frequently attacking Malian and French soldiers as well as U.N. peacekeepers trying to stabilize the north.

Guterres urged all parties to immediately stop fighting and resume « a constructive dialogue, » noting that only six months are left in the interim period stipulated in the peace agreement.

He also urged the international community, including a team of mediators, to redouble efforts and use their « full political weight » to ensure action by the signatories.

If international efforts and dialogue fail « to achieve immediate results on the ground, I call on the Security Council to consider, in the coming months, the imposition of targeted sanctions against those who obstruct implementation of the peace agreement, » Guterres said.

The secretary-general warned that « the limited progress in putting in place the security arrangements foreseen in the agreement has facilitated the spread of insecurity from the far north to the center of Mali, with terrorist and violent extremist groups expanding their activities and consolidating their presence. »

He said growing insecurity in border areas between Mali and Burkina Faso and Niger, together with the impact of drug trafficking on peace efforts, demonstrates the need for regional cooperation to tackle security threats.

Guterres urged the government to redouble its efforts to redeploy Malian forces in the north and center of the country where security remains volatile.

Reports: Istanbul nightclub attacker who killed 39 captured
A gunman suspected of killing 39 people during a New Year’s attack on an Istanbul nightclub has been caught in a police operation, Turkish media reports said early Tuesday.

The suspect was captured in a special operations police raid on a house in Istanbul’s Esenyurt district, private NTV television reported. The broadcaster said he had been staying in the house belonging to a friend from Kyrgyzstan.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the nightclub massacre, saying the attack in the first hours of Jan. 1 was in reprisal for Turkish military operations in northern Syria. The man identified as the suspect had been on the run since the attack.

Hurriyet newspaper and other media have identified the gunman as Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbekistan national. The suspect was to undergo medical checks before being taken to police headquarters for questioning, the paper said in its online edition.

Dogan news agency published what it said was the first image of the attacker. It showed a bruised, black-haired man in a grey, bloodied shirt being held by his neck. Private NTV television said the gunman had resisted arrest.

NTV reported that the alleged gunman’s Kyrgyz friend and three other people also were detained. His 4-year-old child, who was with him at the home, was taken into protective custody.

Hurriyet newspaper said the alleged gunman’s wife and 1-year old daughter were caught in a police operation on Jan. 12.

Police established his whereabouts four or five days ago, but delayed the raid so they could monitor his movements and contacts, NTV reported.

The television channel also broadcast footage showing plain-clothed police taking away a man in a white top and sweat pants, forcing his head down. The station said the images showed the gunman’s Kyrgyz friend being taken to a police vehicle.

The state-run Anadolu Agency likewise reported the arrest and identified the gunman, only with a slightly different spelling of his first name, Abdulgadir. It said a Kyrgyz man and three women were detained with him

Anadolu said the suspects were being taken to Istanbul’s main police headquarters for questioning. Police were carrying out raids on other suspected Islamic State group cells, the news agency said without providing details.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu posted a Twitter message thanking the interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, police and intelligence organizations « who caught the Reina attacker in the name of the people. »

Earlier in the day, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said the Reina nightclub attack had been carried out professionally with the help of an intelligence organization, a claim he had made in the first days after the attack. He did not name the organization suspected of being involved.

Hundreds of people were gathered at the swanky Reina nightclub to celebrate the end of a tumultuous 2016 only to become the first victims of 2017. The gunman shot a police officer and a civilian outside the club, then stormed the premises.

Most of the dead in the attack on the upscale club were foreign nationals, from the Middle East. The gunman had reportedly left Reina in a taxi.

Turkish police catch Istanbul nightclub attacker in city

Turkish police on Monday captured the suspected jihadist who slaughtered 39 people on New Year’s night at an Istanbul nightclub, detaining him in a raid on a residential area of the city after a long manhunt.

The alleged assailant was found along with his four-year-old son in an apartment in the Esenyurt district of Istanbul after a massive police operation, state-run TRT television reported.

The attacker had been on the run for over two weeks, after slipping into the night following the attack on the glamorous Reina nightclub on the Bosphorus.

Reports had previously suggested he never left the Turkish metropolis, despite a tightening of borders in a bid to stop him escaping, triggering fears that a dangerous killer was on the loose in the city.

The Islamic State (IS) group took responsibility for the bloodbath, the first time it has ever openly claimed a major attack in Turkey.

It had previously been blamed for several strikes including triple suicide bombings at Istanbul airport in June.

The suspect was caught in an operation jointly carried out by the Turkish police and the spy agency MIT, Turkish TV said.

Turkish media published a picture of the detained man with blood on his face and T-shirt, his neck gripped by a policeman.

Television images showed him being roughly led away, his head bent low.

– ‘Tracked for 3 days’ –

There had been confusion over the identity of the attacker in the wake of the massacre, with reports initially suggesting a Kyrgyz national and then a Uighur from China.

But reports on January 8 said intelligence services and anti-terror police in Istanbul had identified him as a 34-year-old Uzbek who was part of a Central Asian IS cell.

The state run Anadolu news agency identified the detained man as Abdulgadir Masharipov, while the Dogan news agency said he used the code name of Ebu Muhammed Horasani within IS. These are the same names given in the January 8 reports.

The suspect was living in an apartment rented by a Kyrgyz in Istanbul who was also detained, TRT reported. Anadolu said a total of five people were detained in the operation, including three women.

Anadolu added the suspected attacker had been brought to the Istanbul police headquarters for questioning. It said other raids took place on IS targets in the city, without giving further details.

NTV television said the attacker was captured at a quarter past midnight (2115 GMT). The police had spotted his location three days earlier, but preferred to track him to identify his contacts.

The son is under protection, the reports said.

Turkish media reports had said that the gunman was a well-trained killer who had fought for IS in Syria and had gained weapons expertise there.

The investigation had also focused on the central Turkish city of Konya where the attacker was reported to have lived for several weeks after returning from Syria before moving to Istanbul.

At least 35 people have been detained before the latest raid in connection with the attack, according to Anadolu.

Of the 39 killed in the attack on the glamorous nightclub, 27 were foreigners including citizens from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iraq and Morocco who had been hoping to celebrate a special New Year.

The attack, just 75 minutes into 2017, rocked Turkey which had already been shaken by a string of attacks in 2016 blamed on jihadists and Kurdish militants that left hundreds dead.

Turkey had been accused by its Western allies of not doing enough to halt the rise of IS but the charges are denied by the Turkish authorities, who note the group has been listed as a terror organisation in the country since 2013.

Blast targeting police in southeast Turkey kills 4 officers

A roadside bomb in a pre-dominantly Kurdish city in southeast Turkey on Monday killed four policemen and wounded two others, according to the state-run news agency.

Anadolu Agency said the explosion occurred near Dicle University in the Sur district of Diyarbakir province. The report blamed the attack on militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK.

The private Dogan news agency broadcast footage showing ambulances, a firetruck and security forces deployed at the scene of the blast.

The wounded were taken to Dicle University’s Medical Faculty Hospital, Anadolu reported.

The office of Diyarbakir’s governor gave the same death toll for the afternoon explosion. In a statement, it offered condolences to the families of the officers who died and said an investigation was underway to find those responsible.

Turkey’s southeast has witnessed renewed conflict between state security forces and Kurdish militants that has left thousands dead in the last year.

The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency and is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its allies, including the United States.

In the past year, Turkey has endured more than 30 major violent attacks linked to the Islamic State group and Kurdish militants.

UK’s May signals EU clean break: no ‘half-in, half-out’
Britain will make a clean break from the European Union and not seek to remain « half-in, half-out, » Prime Minister Theresa May will say Tuesday, disappointing businesses and voters who want the country to stay in the bloc’s single market.

In her most detailed speech on the U.K.’s exit strategy, May will promise to forge « a new and equal partnership » with the EU.

« Not partial membership of the European Union, associate membership of the European Union, or anything that leaves us half-in, half-out, » she plans to say, according to excerpts released by her office.

« We do not seek to adopt a model already enjoyed by other countries. We do not seek to hold on to bits of membership as we leave. »

May’s speech appears to rule out the sort of close ties adopted by non-EU members Switzerland or Norway. It’s likely to be another shock for the beleaguered pound, which hit a three-month low below $1.20 Monday amid hints that May would signal an economy-roiling « hard Brexit. »

Sterling has lost about a fifth of its value since Britain voted in June to leave the EU.

May has said she rejects both the « hard Brexit » label and its opposite, a compromise « soft Brexit » — but wants a new relationship in the interests of both Britain and the EU.

« We want to buy your goods, sell you ours, trade with you as freely as possible, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship, » she’ll say.

In a bid to alleviate fears that Brexit will mean a more insular Britain, May will say she wants the country to be « stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking than ever before. »

In an attempt to symbolize the U.K.’s outward-facing aspirations, May will deliver her speech to an audience of British civil servants and international diplomats at London’s Lancaster House, a Georgian mansion that has hosted international summits over the decades.

May’s speech signals that Britain will quit the EU’s single market in goods and services in order to gain control over immigration — a key issue for many voters who backed Brexit. EU leaders say Britain can’t stay in the single market without allowing free movement of people from the bloc.

The prospect of losing single-market access alarms many in Britain’s huge financial services sector, which relies on an ability to do business seamlessly across the 28-nation bloc.

It also worries the many foreign firms that use London not only as a financial hub but as an entry point into the EU.

« We now have to assume May will prioritize immigration controls, and the price to pay will be to exit the single market, » said Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital. « That could send the pound a lot lower still, perhaps towards $1.10 in the coming weeks. »

The pound recovered to above $1.20 Monday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s comment in an interview with The Times of London that a U.S.-U.K. trade deal could be done « very quickly » once he takes office this week.

May says she will invoke Article 50 of the EU’s key treat by March 31, to formally begin a two-year process of negotiating Britain’s departure.

But she has until now refused to reveal details about the government’s goals or negotiating strategy, arguing that to do so would weaken Britain’s hand.

Some details have now begun to emerge.

British Treasury chief Philip Hammond fueled speculation that Britain will play hardball in Brexit negotiations, telling the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that the U.K. hoped to retain single-market access but would be willing to « change our economic model to regain competitiveness » if that was cut off.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn accused Hammond of threatening a « trade war with Europe » and seeking to turn Britain into a tax haven.

May spokeswoman Helen Bower said the prime minister and Hammond both want Britain « to remain in the mainstream of a recognizable European-style taxation system. »

« But if we are forced to do something different because we can’t get the right deal, then we stand ready to do so, » she said.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, said that May was well advised to use her speech to bring clarity about Britain’s intentions — even if many people won’t like the message.

« I think ruling out membership of the single market … is in some ways the clarity people are looking for, » Bale said. « Yet were she to do that, it would be a massive blow to many sectors of the economy. But if that’s really what she’s going to do, and it’s not simply a negotiating stance on her part, it might be better to do it sooner rather than later. »

May will also use her speech to appeal for reconciliation between the 48 percent of British voters who wanted to stay in the EU and the pro-Brexit 52 percent. But the gap between « remainers » and « leavers » appears as wide as ever.

In London’s financial district, the City, many worry about the future of their global businesses and international workforce once Britain is out of the EU fold.

« I feel like we should be heading towards more world cooperation generally speaking and this feels like a very retrograde step, » recruitment firm employee Christopher Devine said.

A few miles to the east in working-class Romford, where a large majority voted to leave, many say Brexit can’t come soon enough.

« I think it could happen a little bit quicker, » said Tony Geary, who sells clothes in Romford market. « Theresa May now needs to sort of get her finger on the button and make sure everything is in place so by the end of this financial year she is in a position to make things happen. »

———–

EU Parliament speaker vote could strengthen eurosceptics – The European Parliament elects a new speaker on Tuesday in an unusually hotly contested vote that could strengthen eurosceptic forces at a time when the EU faces British moves to leave and questions about its future role.

A divisive campaign and the end of the ‘grand coalition’ of the main parties is also likely to hamper the assembly, delaying lawmaking – another boon for anti-EU parties who portray the union as rigid and bureaucratic. Other sensitive matters facing the assembly include immigration and banking.

Conservative Antonio Tajani, 63, a close ally of Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, is the favourite as he can count on the support of the European People’s Party, the largest grouping in parliament.

Unlike past appointments which were agreed in advance by the main parties, he faces a real challenger in socialist Gianni Pittella, 58, who is bidding to succeed Martin Schulz, also of the centre-left. Last-minute manoeuvres could yet propel to victory candidates from smaller groups.

Seven of the eight political groups of the legislature have fielded candidates, the exception being the United Kingdom Independence Party’s (UKIP) grouping.

DEAL MAKING The speaker chairs debates in the European Parliament, which embraces deputies from the 28 states. He or she can play a key role in brokering agreements with the executive, the European Commission and national governments.

Britain is expected to formally notify Brussels in March of its intention to leave the EU following the results of a June referendum. The negotiations that follow seem likely to raise some tensions not only between the EU and Britain but within the EU itself, as well as within Britain.

Breaking from a decade-long convention whereby the socialists and the conservatives take turns to hold the high-profile job, Pittella has vowed to stimulate genuine debate and dispel the idea that all main parties in the parliament are part of a reform-shy establishment.

But his bid may turn into a boost to eurosceptics, who could play an unprecedented king-maker role in the uncertain vote.

Tajani may need the support of lawmakers from Marine Le Pen’s far-right grouping or those of UKIP to be elected.

If Tajani wins, the conservatives would hold all three EU top jobs. Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg heads the EU’s Brussels-based executive, the Commission, and former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk chairs the European Council, which groups the national governments.

Socialists have said that if Pittella does not win in the Parliament, they will push for a reshuffle of the key posts .
As robots take jobs, Europeans mull free money for all

I am, therefore I’m paid.

The radical notion that governments should hand out free money to everyone — rich and poor, those who work and those who don’t — is slowly but surely gaining ground in Europe. Yes, you read that right: a guaranteed monthly living allowance, no strings attached.

In France, two of the seven candidates vying to represent the ruling Socialist Party in this year’s presidential election are promising modest but regular stipends to all French adults. A limited test is already underway in Finland, with other experiments planned elsewhere, including in the United States.

Called « universal income » by some, « universal basic income » or just « basic income » by others, the idea has been floated in various guises since at least the mid-19th century. After decades on the fringes of intellectual debate, it became more mainstream in 2016, with Switzerland holding a referendum — and overwhelmingly rejecting — a proposed basic income of around $2,500 per month.

« An incredible year, » says Philippe Van Parijs, a founder of the Basic Income Earth Network that lobbies for such payments. « There has been more written and said on basic income than in the whole history of mankind. »

But before you write a resignation letter to your boss in anticipation of never needing to work again, be warned: there are multiple questions, including how to finance such schemes. Here is a look at the issues:

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WHY THE MOUNTING INTEREST?

In a word, robots. With automated systems and machines increasingly replacing human workers, France could lose 3 million jobs by 2025, says Benoit Hamon, a former education minister campaigning for the French presidency on a promise of gradually introducing no-strings-attached payments for all. As work becomes scarcer, a modest but regular guaranteed income would stop people from fearing the future and free up their time for family, the needy and themselves, he argues.

It could also encourage people to take risks, start businesses and try new activities without the risk of losing welfare benefits.

The other pro-basic income candidate for the Socialist Party presidential ticket is outsider Jean-Luc Bennahmias. Like Hamon, the former European Parliament lawmaker argues that it is pointless to expect the return of economic boom times, with jobs for all.

« Growth at two, three, four or five percent in western countries: it’s finished, » he said in a televised debate last week. « We have to speak the truth. »

Outside research backs up their arguments. An Oxford University study in 2015 estimated nearly half of the American workforce is at risk of automation.

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PUT TO THE TEST

Finland’s small-scale, two-year trial that started Jan. 1 aims to answer a frequent question from basic income opponents: With a guaranteed 560 euros ($600) a month, will the 2,000 human guinea pigs — drawn randomly from Finland’s unemployed — just laze around?

Budget constraints and opposition from multiple quarters stymied ambitions for a broader test, says Olli Kangas from the Finnish government agency KELA, which is responsible for the country’s social benefits.

« It’s a pretty watered down version, » he said in a telephone interview. « We had to make a huge number of compromises. »

Still, he argues that such studies are essential in helping societies prepare for changed labor markets of the future.

« I’m not saying that basic income is the solution, » he said. « I’m just saying that it’s a solution that we have to think about. »

In the Netherlands, the city of Utrecht this year plans to trial no-strings welfare payments that will also allow test groups to work on the side if they choose — again, in part, to study the effect on their motivation to find work.

To prepare for « a world where technology replaces existing jobs and basic income becomes necessary, » Silicon Valley startup financier Y Combinator says it plans a pilot study in Oakland, California, paying recipients an unconditional income because « we want to see how people experience that freedom. »

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THE COST

Obviously, expensive. Hamon proposes the gradual introduction of basic income schemes in France, starting with 600 euros ($640) per month for the nation’s poor and 18-25-year-olds before scaling up payments to 750 euros ($800) for all adults — for a total estimated annual cost of 400 billion euros ($425 billion).

Part of the cost could be financed by taxing goods and services produced by automated systems and machines, he says. Opponents argue that doing so would simply prompt companies to move robots elsewhere, out of reach of French tax collectors.

Doing away with housing, family, poverty and unemployment benefits could free up more than 100 billion euros ($106 billion) to fold into a replacement basic income scheme.

There’d also be less red tape, saving money that way, too, but switching to basic income would still require new taxes, a 2016 Senate report said.

It estimated that paying everyone 500 to 1,000 euros ($530-$1,100) per month would cost 300 billion to 700 billion euros ($745 billion-$320 billion) annually. It recommended starting with three-year pilot schemes with trials involving 20,000-30,000 people.

___

THE CONS

Costs aside, opponents argue that guaranteed incomes would promote laziness and devalue the concept of work. Hamon’s opponents for the Socialist presidential ticket dispute as false his argument that jobs for humans are growing scarcer.

Ultimately, to see the light of day, basic income schemes will need political champions, said Van Parijs.

« We need radical ideas as targets and then we need clever tinkering to move in that direction, » he said.

Defiant EU nations ready themselves for Trump presidency
European Union nations bracing for the looming Donald Trump presidency showed defiance Monday in the face of the president-elect’s stinging comments on everything from NATO and German cars to the crumbling of the EU itself.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the U.S. president-elect’s view that NATO was obsolete and his criticism that European allied members aren’t paying their fair share had « caused astonishment. »

Trump also said Britain’s decision to leave the 28-nation European Union would « end up being a great thing, » and he predicted that other countries would also leave.

At a meeting of EU ministers, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the best response to such comments was simple — « it is the unity of the Europeans. »

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted: « We Europeans have our fate in our own hands. »

« I’m personally going to wait until the American president takes office, and then we will naturally work with him on all levels, » she told reporters.

French President Francois Hollande was even more outspoken in his defiance.

Europe « has no need for outside advice to tell it what to do, » Hollande said at a ceremony for outgoing U.S. ambassador in Paris Jane Hartley.

« Europe will always be willing to pursue trans-Atlantic cooperation, but it will base its decisions on its interests and its values, » he added.

Some EU officials fear Trump’s frequent, often acerbic Twitter postings might be the prelude to a caustic presidency after Friday’s inauguration.

« We are going to move away from, I guess, a kind of Twitter diplomacy, and then into a reality, » said Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen, adding that reality could be « perhaps more difficult than what is going on on Twitter. »

EU foreign ministers were already worried what Trump might do beyond their continent. They came out against any plan by Trump to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and warned that it could ratchet up tensions with the Arab world.

« It is very important for us all to refrain from unilateral actions, » EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said. « We hope that there can be reflection on consequences of any move that is taken, » she said.

Although Trump had made similar statements about NATO during his election campaign, his recent comments still came as a bit of a surprise since his choice for defense secretary, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, stressed his support for the NATO military alliance in his U.S. congressional confirmation hearing last week.

Trump’s views, in an interview published Monday with German daily Bild and The Times of London, contradict Mattis, Steinmeier said.

« If one compares the positions of the designated president and the future foreign and defense ministers, then one can’t discern a common foreign policy line among the new U.S. government, » he said.

There have even been fears the U.S. military commitment to Europe would wane under Trump. A German newspaper group reports that Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite has urged Trump to continue meeting the U.S.’s financial obligations toward the alliance.

« Since World War II, the presence of U.S. troops has been a prerequisite for rebuilding the continent, safeguarding peace and ensuring security, » she told the RND network of some 30 German papers.

« We expect continuity from the new U.S. administration. Trump must maintain this leadership role, to ensure security, stability and peace, » she was quoted as saying.

Trump indicated he was indifferent to whether the EU stays together or not, a sharp break from the Obama administration, which encouraged British people to vote to remain in the EU in the June referendum.

« I believe others will leave … I do think keeping it together is not gonna be as easy as a lot of people think, » Trump said in the interview.

The British exit from the EU would « end up being a great thing, » he said.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it’s « very good news that the United States of America wants to do a good free trade deal with us and wants to do it very fast. »

Trump was less kind to German industry officials, saying car manufacturers including BMW could face tariffs of up to 35 percent if they set up plants in Mexico instead of in the U.S. and try to export the cars to the U.S.

Such tariffs would make the American auto industry « worse, weaker and more expensive, » Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s economy minister, told Bild.

Gabriel suggested Europeans should exhibit more self-confidence in dealing with Trump. « We’re not weak and inferior, » he said.

Whatever his goal, Trump’s comments were strong enough to make him the talk of the town in European capitals.

« It is clear that we are discussing this issue all the time, » Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said at the EU meeting in Brussels.

EU opposes shift of US Embassy site in Israel
European Union foreign ministers on Monday opposed any plan by President-elect Donald Trump to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and warned that it could ratchet up tensions with the Arab world.

« It is very important for us all to refrain from unilateral actions, especially those that can have serious consequences in large sectors of public opinion in large parts of the world, » EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters after chairing their talks in Brussels.

« We hope that there can be reflection on consequences of any move that is taken, » she said.

Mogherini declined to say what consequences could be considered as no formal decision has been made to move the embassy.

Trump hasn’t yet outlined a clear policy for the Middle East, but has signaled he will be more sympathetic to Israel’s hard-line right than previous administrations. He has vowed to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, part of which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state.

« We will for sure not move our delegation. That is in Tel Aviv, » Mogherini said.

Irish Foreign Minister Charles Flanagan said he « would be concerned at any unilateral departure from what has been a long held position of the United Nations as far as the siting of embassies is concerned. »

Mogherini said that the EU would continue to respect the international consensus that embassies shouldn’t be based in Jerusalem, which is laid out in U.N. Security Council Resolution 478, dating from 1980.

——–

Europeans look past Trump remarks to keep trans- If Washington’s European allies had any hope that Donald Trump would sound less like Donald Trump now that he is days from the U.S. presidency, his first European newspaper interview quickly buried it.

Trump declared the NATO alliance « obsolete », praised Britain’s exit from the European Union and gave his clearest hint yet that he would consider lifting financial sanctions on Moscow, which the United States and EU both imposed after Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.

His new remarks drew public expressions of dismay from across Europe. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said they had led to « astonishment and agitation » in Brussels, where Steinmeier was meeting EU counterparts. He said he had already met with the head of NATO to share his concern.

The EU executive, however, voiced confidence that Trump would come round to seeing it as the key U.S. ally it had been for decades: « I’m sure that sooner or later everyone in Washington will understand that it’s in the strategic interests of the United States to have a successful European Union, » European Commission deputy head Frans Timmermans told CNN.

And behind the scenes, European officials say they are still confident that the architecture of the Western security alliance will survive a Trump presidency.

Many say they have taken heart from the more conventional foreign policy positions described by Trump’s picks for defence secretary and secretary of state, General James Mattis and Exxon-Mobil ex-CEO Rex Tillerson, at confirmation hearings. They also point to the strong support for NATO and the firm line on Russia expressed by senators from Trump’s Republican Party during the questioning.

Ultimately, they expect the post-World War Two Western alliance to withstand a more sceptical approach from the White House, thanks to deep institutional understanding of its benefits on both sides of the Atlantic. A stepped-up schedule of summits and meetings will give early chances to clear the air.

« We are working on the basis that Trump will listen to Mattis, Tillerson and foreign policy Republicans, » said a senior EU diplomat involved in foreign policy planning in Brussels.

« If we can cement a relationship based around the calendar of meetings, bilaterals and summits, we may be able to get beyond the headlines and the election campaign. » FOCUS ON EUROPE Trump takes charge of U.S. foreign policy and becomes commander-in-chief of the military at a time when the 2014 Ukraine crisis has already prompted Washington and NATO to shift their focus from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq back towards the founding mission of defending Europe.

Three years after the last U.S. tank left Europe, U.S. heavy weaponry is returning as part of a congressionally-approved $3.4 billion spending plan to increase Europe’s defences against what NATO — led by U.S. strategists — sees as an increasingly aggressive Russia.

Under that plan, the U.S. army will deploy thousands of troops in Poland and the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which all fear that Russia could attempt a land-grab on the model of its operation in Ukraine.

The head of the Latvian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Ojars Eriks Kalnins, told Reuters his country was reassured by Mattis’s confirmation hearings last week.

« If you listen to his testimony then everything fits with our positions, » he said.

The first big chance to solidify the alliance will come Feb. 15-16, when Mattis is expected to make his debut at NATO headquarters in Brussels for a meeting of alliance ministers.

That will be quickly followed by the annual Munich Security Conference in the German city, normally attended by world leaders and cabinet ministers, at which EU officials can press Trump administration figures for their views.

A second senior EU official working on EU foreign policy said there will also be a swift invitation for Tillerson to attend an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.

« We obviously plan to engage with the incoming US administration, it’ll be important to assess our common priorities. » Trump himself could make his European summit debut at a NATO meeting in April or May, although it has not yet been scheduled and could wait until 2018. Otherwise, he will share a stage with the British, Canadian, French, German, Italian and Japanese leaders at a G7 summit in Italy in May.

Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said the main strategy was to ensure lines of dialog are open between the new administration and allies on the continent.

« I’m convinced it’s about communication, » he said. « Our role is to be active, it’s not a wait-and-see strategy. For all of us, it’s very important to address partners in this new structure and to start cooperation and exchange of views. » European officials say they expect Trump to hear about the importance of the U.S.-European alliance not only from diplomats and generals, but from fellow businessmen who recognise the need for close ties with the world’s biggest trading bloc.

Trump « would be well-advised to ask his international American companies how much sense it makes to operate in a single market in Europe. Then perhaps a sense of understanding would prevail, » said Johannes Hahn, the European Commissioner in charge of the bloc’s future expansion.

Still, despite the reassurance Europeans take from Trump’s cabinet picks, one EU diplomat said the conclusion in Brussels was that they were dealing with « a big unknown » in Trump himself. « Whatever Tillerson, Mattis and others say, it is not necessarily the new administration’s policy. » French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Europe could learn a valuable lesson from a sceptical Washington: European countries need to stick together to defend themselves.

« The best way to defend Europe, that’s what Mr. Trump is inviting us to do, is to remain united, is to stand together and not forget that the strength of Europeans is their unity, » Ayrault said

Berlin sheds tear for post-war order as Trump era looms

US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel may have got off to a rocky start but his impending departure has sparked a wave of nostalgia and trepidation in Berlin.

As Donald Trump threatens to upend the pillars of the postwar order, few cities have historically symbolised the strength of the transatlantic bond more than the reunified German capital, where Obama held the biggest rally of his 2008 watershed campaign.

Although Merkel barred him from speaking at the Brandenburg Gate, deeming the landmark of German unity too presumptuous a backdrop for the young senator, Obama drew 200,000 cheering fans to the nearby Victory Column monument for a speech about ripping down walls of division.

Now, as Berliners prepare to bid him goodbye, many say Obama left relations far better than he found them, making the impending presidency of Trump who is sworn in Friday a source of widespread anxiety.

« Merkel and Obama are both 21st century leaders, not only because she was the first woman as chancellor and he was the first black president, but because of their modern, intelligent, far-sighted approach, » said Antje Pohle, a 33-year-old public relations executive.

« Obama wasn’t perfect but he will be missed in Berlin, especially when you look at the Trump insanity. »

Clemens Doepgen, 50, who works at US automaker Ford’s German unit, predicted « very tough » negotiations on trade, dismissing Trump’s protectionist rhetoric as « crude and simplistic ».

« America under Obama was a reliable partner — Trump’s erratic approach could be very bad for business. »

– Tectonic shift –

In his 2008 address, Obama used the once-divided city’s rebirth as a symbol of progress, placing himself in the ranks of former US presidents who saw Berlin as a crucible of epic struggles.

Just months before his 1963 assassination, John F. Kennedy delivered the stirring declaration « Ich bin ein Berliner » (I am a Berliner) to 450,000 people when West Berlin found itself on the frontline of the Cold War.

It offered a crucial message of reassurance a year after the United States and Soviet Union nearly went to war in the Cuban missile crisis, and two years after East Germany’s communist regime erected the Berlin Wall.

Obama’s speech was also a clear echo of Ronald Reagan’s call to then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Berlin in 1987 to « tear down this wall ». Two years later, the Cold War barrier would be toppled in a bloodless revolution.

Obama and Merkel, who took power in 2005, developed a strong partnership, despite rifts over revelations of NSA spying on Merkel’s mobile phone and Obama’s vocal opposition to Germany’s austerity-driven response to the European debt crisis.

During Obama’s tenure, the US and Germany, along with the EU, racked up a series of policy agreements that Trump has now thrown into question, including the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate accord and economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

But more fundamentally, Obama’s time in office saw a tectonic shift in transatlantic relations.

« For so long in the post-war period Germany was kind of a protectorate — at least West Germany — and even after the Wall fell, it was still somewhat of an adolescent. But I think Obama has seen Germany come of age, » Sudha David-Wilp, senior transatlantic fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, told AFP.

« At the end of his two terms, we’ve seen he has come to rely on Chancellor Merkel for advice and discussions and how Germany has come to be seen as an indispensable partner. Germany has come to assume more responsibility in the world and sees itself as a power for good. »

– ‘Audience that claps’ –

On a farewell visit to Berlin in November, Obama praised Merkel as an « outstanding » ally, as the two leaders stressed the need for a strong NATO, free trade and action on climate change.

Trump’s inauguration could trigger a dramatic about-face, as he declared in an interview with European newspapers Monday that NATO was « obsolete », the European Union purely a « vehicle for Germany », and Merkel’s welcome for refugees a « catastrophic mistake ».

Despite the obvious break with Washington policy and tradition, outgoing US ambassador to Germany John Emerson said Trump would be wise to seek « common ground » with Berlin.

« Right at the beginning, he should visit the place his family came from, » Emerson said, referring to Kallstadt, the village in the wine country of Germany’s southwest where his paternal grandparents were born.

After Obama’s two rapturously received addresses in Berlin — the second in 2013 when Merkel finally offered him the Brandenburg Gate as a venue — Emerson advised Trump not to set his sights so high. »It will take some time before he gives a major speech here (in Berlin). After all, you want an audience that claps. »

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Chinese president to defend globalisation in Davos – Chinese President Xi Jinping will defend globalisation in the face of mounting public hostility in the West on Tuesday in a speech at the World Economic Forum that will underline Beijing’s growing global role.

Xi’s appearance, a first for a Chinese leader at the annual meeting of political leaders, CEOs and bankers in Davos, comes as the part the United States plays as a force for multilateral cooperation on issues like trade and climate change is in doubt following the election of Donald Trump.

Europe, meanwhile, is pre-occupied with its own troubles, from Brexit and militant attacks to the string of elections this year in which anti-globalisation populists could score gains.

This has left a vacuum that China seems eager to fill.

« It is no coincidence that Xi chose this year to make the trip up the magic mountain, » said Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, a U.S. based political risk consultancy.

More than half a dozen senior Chinese government figures will be in Davos this week, far more than in past years. And a large number of sessions are focused on Asia, including one entitled « Asia Takes the Lead ».

WEF founder Klaus Schwab said Xi’s presence was a sign of the shift from a uni-polar world dominated by the United States, to a more multi-polar system in which rising powers like China will have to step up and play a bigger role.

« We can hope that China in this new world will assume a responsive and responsible leadership role, » Schwab told Reuters. « So in some ways it is very symbolic to have the president of China here. » « TAKE OFF THE GLOVES » Xi’s appearance comes amid rising tensions between Beijing and president-elect Trump, who will be inaugurated on Friday, the final day of the Davos meeting.

Trump campaigned on a promise to confront China more aggressively on trade and broke with decades of precedent last month by taking a congratulatory telephone call from the president of Taiwan, which Beijing sees as part of China.

He has not toned down his rhetoric since, saying only last week that America’s « One China » policy was up for negotiation, triggering a furious response from state-run Chinese newspapers.

« If Trump is determined to use this gambit in taking office, a period of fierce, damaging interactions will be unavoidable, as Beijing will have no choice but to take off the gloves, » the English-language China Daily said.

Xi is not expected to wade into the tit-for-tat with Trump in Davos. Speaking in the Swiss capital Bern on the eve of his speech, he stressed the importance of cooperation.

« Protectionism, populism and de-globalisation are on the rise. It’s not good for closer economic cooperation globally, » Xi said.

China, the world’s top exporter, is heavily dependent on free trade and could be hit hard by a new wave of protectionism.

Fears of a hard economic landing in China roiled global markets during last year’s Davos.

And while those concerns have eased, the International Monetary Fund warned on Monday of ongoing risks to the economy, including its high reliance on government spending, record lending by state banks and an overheating property market.

« China is still one of the biggest risks and I think the only reason it is not at the top of the list is that the United States has become such a locust of uncertainty, »

—-
Chinese official fired after calling Mao « a devil » – An official in northern China has been fired after he called the founder of modern China Mao Zedong a « devil » on social media and called the annual commemoration of Mao’s birthday « the world’s largest cult activity ».

Mao, who died on Sept. 9, 1976, is still officially venerated by the ruling Communist Party as the founder of modern China and his face appears on every yuan banknote.

He is particularly respected by leftists who believe the country has become too capitalist and unequal over three decades of market-based reforms, and attitudes towards Mao and his legacy mirror differences between reformers and traditionalists.

In a statement late Monday, the Shijiazhuang Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film, TV, Press and Publication said that its deputy director Zuo Chunhe had been sacked for « posting wrong remarks » on China’s Twitter-like Weibo service and « serious violation of political discipline ».

Zuo also needs to « deeply reflect » on his mistakes, the statement said.

While Zuo’s post was deleted images of it continue to circulate online.

Reuters was not able to reach Zuo for comment.

The Global Times, published by the party’s official People’s Daily, said his Weibo account had been deleted.

Earlier this month, a Chinese professor was sacked after enraging leftists with a commentary posted online in December that criticised Mao on the 123rd anniversary of his birth.

———-
Trump ‘won’t be worse than Obama,’ says Venezuela’s president – Venezuela’s socialist leader said on Monday that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump was the victim of a global « hate campaign » and could not be worse than outgoing Barack Obama.

On the campaign trail, the conservative Trump criticized Venezuela’s ruling Socialists for oppressing their own people, but Maduro refrained from firing back in his first public comments on the Republican’s election win.

« Let’s wait and see what happens. Don’t let’s jump ahead of ourselves. I want to be prudent, » he told a news conference.

« He won’t be worse than Obama, that’s all I dare say. Obama has left the world plagued by terrorism. In Latin America, he will be remembered for three coups. » Venezuela’s government initially welcomed Obama’s presidency but later soured on him, criticizing his « imperialist » foreign policy and accusing Washington of meddling to change governments in Brazil, Honduras and Paraguay.

« International media have speculated about Donald Trump, » Maduro continued in brief comments about him.

« We are surprised at the brutal hate campaign against Donald Trump in the whole world, in the western world

Trump partner eyes Indonesia power, sees faults in democracy
President-elect Donald Trump’s billionaire business partner and possible political proxy in Indonesia nurses big leadership ambitions in the vast but perennially lagging Southeast Asian nation, which he says isn’t developed enough to have a successful democracy and needs strong leadership.

Boasting more than a million followers on Twitter, three popular television channels and a newly minted political party, Hary Tanoesoedibjo says he has had enough success in business and now wants power of the political kind.

Tanoesoedibjo, better known as Tanoe, is like Trump a free-trade critic. He’s making his pitch to tens of millions of Indonesians left behind by a lopsided economy that favors a few major cities.

« I think under today’s environment, with the complexity, we need a businessman to run a country, » Tanoe said in an interview Saturday at his South Jakarta home, a small palace with a statue of a giant eagle looming over an immaculate driveway. « What I see is that (Trump) will give a lot of benefit to the American people, like his intention to bring back factories to the U.S. »

Tanoe and his wife will attend Trump’s inauguration Friday and the official inauguration ball.

Aside from business, the two men share similar diagnoses of what ails their respective countries. Tanoe bemoans what he is says is Indonesia’s fading competitiveness, lack of investment in manufacturing, widespread poverty and the risk it won’t provide enough good jobs for its burgeoning youth population.

Despite his presidential ambitions, Tanoe does not have any particular affection for Indonesia’s young democracy.

« I have to tell you, in a society where a supermajority of the people is still left behind in terms of their education, and in terms of their welfare, democracy may create another problem, » Tanoe said.

« Because those who really rule the country are those who sit with money and power. The supermajority of the people, they don’t understand anything. They just follow, » he said. « Maybe democracy is a good way for a developed country, in a country where the level of the playing field is the same. »

Tanoe, like Trump, exults in his business success, pointing to the 37,000 people working in his property and media conglomerate, MNC. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.11 billion. He built his company from scratch, though he began with advantages not available to most Indonesians: His father was a businessman and Tanoe attended Canada’s Carleton University and the University of Ottawa.

His association with Trump began about three years ago when MNC was looking for an operator for sprawling « six star » resorts, one to be built on the tourist island of Bali and the other near Jakarta.

In exchange for a cut of revenue, the Trump Organization will manage hotels, golf courses and country clubs that will cost about $700 million for MNC to build. The projects are to form the core of larger developments the company plans.

Tanoe said after the inauguration his business dealings with the Trump Organization will only be through Trump’s sons Don Jr. and Eric. He is one of the very few Indonesians with a personal relationship with Trump, and he said he is open to being a conduit between the incoming president and Indonesia.

« If I am asked to help facilitate anything for the benefit of the countries I am more than happy to help. That is my position. Basically I don’t want to initiate, to do anything with the official relationship between Indonesia and the United States, » he said.

Such a role appears unlikely, since Tanoe is not aligned with President Joko « Jokowi » Widodo. Indeed, in 2014, Tanoe was the vice-presidential running mate of Wiranto, a retired military chief and current government minister linked to human rights abuses in East Timor. That campaign faltered and Tanoe switched his support to another former general, Prabowo, who was eventually defeated by Jokowi, a maverick candidate. Prabowo, however, remains highly popular in the countryside.

Tanoe’s United Indonesia Party, founded in 2015, could play some role in the 2019 presidential election, but it’s far from clear whether he might be able to satisfy his political ambitions.

« Indonesia needs a leader which is strong, with integrity, » Tanoe said. « So if I know someone strong enough and with the ability to provide solutions to Indonesia, to bring Indonesia to become a developed nation, I would rather be in the position to support him or her. But if there is none I’m convinced of, then I may run myself. »

His ties to Trump could be both an asset and a liability in the world’s most populous Muslim nation and fourth-largest democracy, a country where military dictatorship was the norm until the ouster of President Suharto in 1998. Though Trump is notorious in Indonesia for proposing a ban on Muslim immigration, there is also a reservoir of admiration for the U.S. superpower.

A greater obstacle may be that Tanoe is an ethnic Chinese and Christian. Indonesia’s historical antipathy to its Chinese minority has intensified recently, and hard-line Muslim groups, supported by a marriage of convenience with mainstream political opponents of Jokowi, have seized the political initiative.

Protests against Jakarta’s ethnic Chinese and Christian governor, a Jokowi ally, drew hundreds of thousands to the capital’s streets late last year, demanding his arrest for alleged blasphemy. Gov. Basuki « Ahok » Tjahaja Purnama, who is campaigning for re-election next month, is being tried on charges of insulting Islam and desecrating the Quran.

Tanoe blames a pattern of weak law enforcement responses to provocations by hard-liners for the recent success of their movement, which he doesn’t believe represents mainstream opinion.

« The majority of the Indonesian people are still moderate, that’s for sure, » he said.

Poor Mexico workers fear Trump trade effect

In a rocky desert of northern Mexico, impoverished villagers fear they may be the first people in the world to suffer the impact of US President-elect Donald Trump’s trade crackdown.

In the town of Villa de Reyes stand the square white skeletons of two huge buildings: an unfinished Ford car factory.

The $1.6-billion plant was expected to bring thousands of jobs to the area, but Ford abruptly called off the project this month in the state of San Luis Potosi.

The closure sparked concern that more companies could flee Mexico, where the auto sector has become a driver of growth, accounting for three percent of the economy and changing the face of some regions like San Luis Potosi.

While Ford insisted it was a business decision, Mexican officials said it was also partly due to Trump’s criticism of the company and his vow to penalize US companies that shift jobs abroad.

« That guy in the United States is tightening the screws, » says Concepcion Segura, 54.

He, his wife and four of their six sons lost their jobs on the Ford building site when the project was pulled.

« He has taken Ford away from us to keep it for himself, » Segura said.

– Autos and poverty –

Half of the population of San Luis Potosi was categorized as living in poverty in 2014, according to the latest data from Mexico’s National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL).

The level is extremely high, but it has gradually eased over recent years as the state has become a hub of auto production.

Now it is one of the first places to suffer from the Trump effect.

« The same old thing could happen, » says Segura. « Lots of shortages and little work. »

General Motors started operating in San Luis Potosi in 2008. It and hundreds of other international companies have transformed the state’s fortunes.

Smart hotels for visiting executives sprang up along the highway where the abandoned plant now stands.

Houses were built near factories for the workers and their families.

The Ford plant was supposed to begin operations in 2018.

« We were growing very well, but with Ford that growth was going to accelerate, » says Gustavo Puente, the state’s development secretary.

Ford’s decision to abandon the plant here meant the loss of 2,800 direct jobs in San Luis Potosi.

Instead, Ford says it will expand a factory in the state of Michigan, the US auto-making heartland, to build electric and self-driving vehicles.

Poverty in Michigan has risen in recent years — the rate is about one in six, according to the US Census.

– Optimism versus uncertainty –

While Mexican officials voice optimism that other companies will not follow Ford’s lead, President Enrique Pena Nieto warned Trump last week against influencing foreign investors « on the basis of fear or threats. »

Trump has threatened to impose a 35 percent import tariff on companies that ship jobs to Mexico.

The Republican billionaire also wants to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico.

Mexico’s car production has tripled since NAFTA came into force — from 1.1 million in 1994 to nearly 3.8 million last year.

But not all firms in the sector are fearing the wheels will come off San Luis Potosi’s auto powerhouse.

« It is too early to say, » says Gunter Daut, vice-president for Mexico at German parts maker Bosch.

Another supplier operating in the area, Michigan-based TI Automotive, is also optimistic.

« We shouldn’t be too alarmed, » says its plant head, Luis Caballero.

« We have to trust in the business we have and companies’ plans for expansion. »

He says T1 Automotive’s main client, German manufacturer BMW, is planning to start operating in San Luis Potosi in 2019.

Further down the pecking order, the poorest of the local workforce are racked with uncertainty, however.

In the nearby hamlet of Providencia, Teresa Contreras, 34, lost her job as a cleaner at the in-progress Ford plant when it was scrapped.

« They told me it was going to last four years and it was only four months, » she says. She doesn’t know where she will find work now.

IMF boosts growth forecast for US, cites Trump impact

The International Monetary Fund on Monday raised its forecast for the U.S. economy over the next two years, saying President-elect Donald Trump’s policies should boost economic growth, particularly in 2018. But officials warned that if Trump’s protectionist trade proposals set off a trade war, that could be « quite destructive » for the global economy.

The IMF also increased 2017 growth projections for a number of other countries including China, Germany, Japan and Britain, but warned that the global economy faced a number of downside risks from rising protectionism to a jump in interest rates.

The 189-nation global lending agency’s latest economic outlook took note of the significant impact Trump’s election has already had in giving a boost to U.S. stock prices, interest rates and the dollar. The new outlook puts U.S. economic growth at 2.3 percent this year and 2.5 percent in 2018. That would be an improvement from lackluster U.S. growth around 1.6 percent in 2016.

During the campaign, Trump said his economic policies of tax cuts, regulatory reform and boosts in infrastructure spending would lift U.S. growth to annual rates of 4 percent.

The new forecast represents a boost of 0.1 percentage point this year and an increase of 0.4 percentage point for 2018, when Trump’s stimulus plans would be expected to be phased in. That is a half-point higher growth than the IMF was forecasting in October, before Trump’s election.

In contrast, the World Bank last week left its U.S. forecast unchanged at 2.2 percent growth in 2017 and 2.1 percent for 2018, arguing that there was too much uncertainty over the fate of Trump’s proposals to incorporate them in a forecast.

But IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld told reporters at a briefing Monday that he viewed the IMF’s upgrade for the United States as a moderate increase that took into account the U.S. election results.

« We now have the presidency and the legislative branch in the same hands. It seems very clear to us that some of the promises will be delivered on, » Obstfeld said. « We know the direction of policies. We don’t know the specifics. »

He said that the IMF had chosen not to incorporate Trump’s threats of imposing higher tariffs on countries such as China and Mexico if their trade policies do not change because of a belief « that at the end of the day, countries will realize these are not in their best interests given the threat of retaliation. … The outbreak of a trade war would be quite destructive. »

For the overall global economy, the IMF left its projections unchanged growth of 3.4 percent for this year and 3.6 percent for 2018, both up from 3.1 percent growth in 2016, a year when global growth slowed to its weakest performance since the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

But the IMF saw better prospects in a number of countries including Germany, Japan, Spain and Britain, thanks in part to a rebound in growth in many parts of the world in the second half of last year that provided momentum going into 2017.

« The global economic landscape started to shift in the second half of 2016, » Obstfeld said, helped by a rebound in manufacturing activity in many countries and the financial market rally that started with Trump’s November election victory.

But Obstfeld said there was a wider than usual range of upside and downside risks in part because of the uncertainty over how much of Trump’s program will win congressional approval and what the spillover effects will be for the rest of the world.

While Trump’s election victory boosted economic prospects in the United States, the impact has been uneven for the rest of the world. Some countries could see stronger growth from the increase in activity in the United States, the world’s largest economy, but some emerging market countries may face challenges as global interest rates rise.

The new outlook boosted the growth forecast for China, the world’s second largest economy, by 0.3 percentage point to 6.5 percent this year. The IMF expects the Chinese government to providing further stimulus to the economy.

The outlook also boosted 2017 growth projections for Germany, Japan, Spain and Britain to reflect stronger-than-expected performances in the second half of last year. At the same time, the IMF lowered its forecasts for Italy, South Korea, India and Brazil, reflecting disappointing performances in the last half of 2016.

The IMF said that growth prospects in Latin America were being hurt by rising uncertainty about the outlook in Mexico, given Trump’s statements overhauling trade relations between the United States and Mexico. about The IMF slashed its growth projections for Mexico by 0.6 percentage point in both 2017 and 2018 to 1.7 percent this year and 2 percent next year.

Obstfeld said that among the risks facing the global economy at the moment were « higher popular antipathy toward trade, immigration and multilateral engagement » among voters in the U.S. and Europe.

King Day highlights transition from Obama to Trump

As Americans celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leaders and activists are trying to reconcile the transition from the nation’s first black president to a president-elect still struggling to connect with most non-white voters.

King’s daughter on Monday encouraged Americans to fight for the slain civil rights leader’s vision of love and justice « no matter who is in the White House. »

In Atlanta, Bernice King addressed more than 2,000 people gathered at her father’s Ebenezer Baptist Church four days before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. She spoke on the same day that her brother, Martin Luther King III, met privately with the president-elect at Trump Tower in New York.

Trump won fewer than 1 out of 10 black voters in November after a campaign of racially charged rhetoric, and tensions have flared anew with his recent criticism of civil rights icon John Lewis, whom the president-elect called « all talk » and « no action. »

Bernice King avoided a detailed critique of Trump, but said the nation still has a choice between « chaos and community, » as her father once said.

« At the end of the day, the Donald Trumps come and go, » Bernice King said. But, she added « we still have to find a way to create » what her father called « the beloved community. »

The current Ebenezer pastor, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, avoiding calling Trump by name, but praised his predecessor. « Thank you, Barack Obama, » he said. « I’m sad to see you go. »

In South Carolina, speakers at a state Capitol rally reminded attendees that minority voters’ power at the ballot box has never been more important, while some attendees expressed unease about Trump joining the Republican majorities that control Capitol Hill.

« It’s going to be different, that’s for sure, » said Diamond Moore, a Benedict College senior who came to the Capitol. « I’m going to give Trump a chance. But I’m also ready to march. »

Martin Luther King III told reporters in New York that his meeting with Trump was « productive. » He said Trump pledged to be a president for all Americans, but King III added « we also have to consistently engage with pressure, public pressure » because « it doesn’t happen automatically. »

Back in Atlanta, Sen. Bernie Sanders brought the Ebenezer assembly to its feet with his reminder that King was not just an advocate for racial equality, but a radical proponent for economic justice — a mission that put him at odds with the political establishment.

« If you think governors and senators and mayors were standing up and saying what a great man Dr. King was, read history, because you are sorely mistaken, » roared Sanders, who invoked the same themes from his failed presidential campaign.

Sanders, who struggled to attract black voters in his Democratic primary fight with Hillary Clinton, recalled King opposing the Vietnam War as exploiting the poor. He also noted King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, where he’d gone to rally striking sanitation workers, white and black.

Truly honoring King, Sanders said, means bringing that « spirit and courage into the arena in 2017. »

Activist priest Michael Pfleger, himself a self-described radical, built on Sanders’ message with a 45-minute keynote message indicting the nation’s social and economic order — a structure he said would get worse under Trump.

The Chicago priest said « white hoods » of the Ku Klux Klan « have been replaced by three-piece suits. » He bemoaned high incarceration rates, a « militarized, stop-and-frisk police state, » profligate spending on war, and a substandard education system.

Pfleger said many Americans too quickly dismiss violence in cities as the fault of those who live there, when the real culprit is poverty. « If you put two lions in a cage and you don’t feed them, » he said, « one will kill the other in the pursuit of survival. »

Warnock, meanwhile, zeroed in on Trump for his treatment of Lewis, now a Georgia congressman who represents most of Atlanta.

Lewis angered Trump when he told NBC’s « Meet the Press » that he views Trump as « illegitimate » because of alleged Russian interference in the campaign. Trump retorted on Twitter that Lewis is « all talk » and said his district is « falling apart » and « crime infested. »

« Anybody who suggests that John Lewis is all talk and no action needs a lesson in American history, » Warnock said, notably declining to say the president-elect’s name.

As a young man, Lewis was arrested and beaten by authorities as he demonstrated for civil and voting rights for black Americans.

Lewis was in Miami at King Day events.

Some Republicans have defended Trump’s criticism of Lewis, arguing it is inappropriate for a congressman to question an incoming president’s legitimacy.

Clara Smith, an Atlanta resident who came Monday to Ebenezer, scoffed at any GOP indignation, remembering that Trump for years questioned whether Obama was a « natural born citizen » as the Constitution requires.

« He carried on with that knowing full well what he was doing » to the first black president, Smith said.

Smith, 66, recalled joining sit-ins and lunch counters of segregated restaurants in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. She said she tries to « ignore » Trump and « his foolishness with the Twitter, » but « with everything that’s happening around us … we have to pass along that history. »

Elsewhere, residents in Memphis are honoring King with neighborhood clean-up events and a daylong celebration at the National Civil Rights Museum.

Bicyclists in Detroit have marked the day by pedaling to sites connected to a historic visit King made to the city.

——-

Martin Luther King’s daughter says ‘God can triumph over Trump’ – Martin Luther King’s daughter said on Monday that « God can triumph over Trump, » but the slain civil rights leader’s son struck a conciliatory tone after meeting with the president-elect on the U.S. holiday that honors their father.

The comments by the children of King, who championed racial justice until he was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39, punctuated an imbroglio involving Donald Trump and African-American congressman John Lewis that broke out over the weekend.

The dispute started when Lewis, 76, a contemporary of King’s who endured beatings and jail time in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, said in a televised interview that he saw Trump’s election as illegitimate because of Russian interference in the campaign. That drew a scornful response from Trump.

Bernice King, King’s youngest daughter, told a gathering at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta not to give up hope and « Don’t be afraid of who sits in the White House. » « God can triumph over Trump, » she said, drawing a standing ovation, one of several times she was interrupted by thunderous applause.

The service at the church where King once preached takes place every year on Martin Luther King Jr Day, a federal holiday honoring his life. This year the holiday fell days before Barack Obama ends his second term as the country’s first African-American president. Trump takes the oath of office as his successor on Friday.

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama spent part of their last MLK Day in office helping paint a mural in the « community room » of a Washington shelter, to which they donated a play set used by their daughters when they arrived at the White House in 2009.

Trump, who won only 8 percent of the black vote, offered praise for King in a Twitter post on Monday, a few hours before meeting King’s oldest son, Martin Luther King III, at his Trump Tower offices in New York.

« Celebrate Martin Luther King Day and all of the many wonderful things that he stood for. Honor him for being the great man that he was! » Trump tweeted.

Trump and King III emerged from an elevator together, shaking hands. Trump said goodbye to King, then returned to the elevator without answering questions.

King said they had a constructive meeting to discuss how to improve the U.S. voting system, which King considers broken, but he skirted questions about whether he was offended by Trump’s comments on Lewis.

« First of all I think that in the heat of emotion a lot of things get said on both sides. I think at some point I bridge-build. The goal is to bring America together, » King told reporters.

Lewis did not mention Trump in a speech about the civil rights struggle to honor King, who would have turned 88 on Sunday, but he urged young black Americans to consider voting a « sacred » act.

« We all must become participants in the democratic process. When you get old enough to register to vote, go and register and vote, » Lewis said in a half-hour address in Miami.

« The vote is precious. It is almost sacred. It is the most powerful, nonviolent instrument or tool that we have in a democratic society, and we must use it. » RUSSIAN MEDDLING The Trump-Lewis exchange began when Lewis told NBC News in segments of an interview released on Friday that he would not attend Trump’s inauguration in part because « I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president. » He referred to the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia used hacking and other methods to try to help Trump, a Republican, defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election.

Trump was withering in his response the following day, saying in tweets that Lewis, a revered figure who risked his life for civil rights, was « All talk, talk, talk – no action or results. » While many Democrats and Republicans said they disagreed with Lewis, they also questioned Trump’s decision to denigrate an African-American political leader of Lewis’ stature, especially over the Martin Luther King Jr weekend.

Civil rights leaders have also opposed Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 after allegations that he was racist and harbored sympathies toward the Ku Klux Klan, a violent white supremacist organization.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has received letters from 400 civil rights organizations opposing his confirmation to the country’s top law enforcement post, Democratic Senator Dianne Weinstein has said. Sessions strongly denied that he is a racist during his confirmation hearing in the Senate last week.

Trumping Trump? Democrat Cuomo courts ‘middle-class anger’

An ambitious Democratic governor with possible White House aspirations has a formula for staying blue in the time of Trump: Take your progressive message directly to angst-ridden middle-class voters.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s decision to break from tradition and roll out his state-of-the-state address in a series of speeches across the state this past week infuriated lawmakers he essentially bypassed. But his populist proposals, including free college tuition, expanded child care tax credits and a « buy American » plan, appear to have landed with at least some of his intended target.

« It was a personal touch. When you’re in Albany, you don’t get the vibe and the feel of the people, » said Syracuse steelworker Keith Odume, who attended Cuomo’s speech and was particularly impressed with his plan to give American companies preference in state purchases.

But some wonder just how sincere Cuomo really is, questioning whether his middle-class outreach formula that he defiantly posed as an alternative to Donald Trump is nothing more than the groundwork for a presidential run.

And they question where this formula — combining progressive social programs and big spending on airports, train stations and water infrastructure — was during Cuomo’s previous six years as governor.

« He hasn’t done anything for me, » said Adam Kelley, an unemployed carpenter who was walking through downtown Syracuse as Cuomo delivered a speech nearby.

Kelley said he is cautiously optimistic about Trump’s presidency but less enthused about the governor. « This town was an industry town. There were jobs. Look at it now. It’s empty. He hasn’t done enough to fix that. »

New York is a deep blue state, where Hillary Clinton beat Trump by more than 20 percentage points. But take away New York City and liberal enclaves like Albany, Westchester County and Ithaca, and New York begins to resemble Ohio, Pennsylvania or Michigan: Rust Belt states that have lost jobs, population and, seemingly, their confidence.

Leading Democrats around the country are struggling to respond following Trump’s victory in November. Cuomo has been mentioned on some lists as a possible challenger in 2020. That speculation only intensified when Cuomo asked Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to join him in announcing his free-tuition plan, which would cover students attending public institutions whose families make $125,000 or less.

« Politicians in both parties should have received the message loud and clear that the American public is not happy with the status quo, » said James Campbell, a political scientist at the University at Buffalo whose most recent book examines America’s political polarization. « But another lesson is that Americans want a somewhat more conservative government, less government. I’m not sure Gov. Cuomo’s plans reflect that. »

During his time in office, Cuomo has worked to balance progressive victories on the minimum wage, paid family leave and same-sex marriage with more conservative efforts to cut taxes, cap government spending and invest billions in corporate subsidies for manufacturing and high-tech industry.

« What makes our economic progress even sweeter, frankly, is that it has been matched by unprecedented social progress, » Cuomo said in his speech on Long Island.

« We talk about the anger in the election, and the roar that we heard in the election, » Cuomo told another crowd on his tour. « That middle-class anger — that’s what we have to address. »

Cuomo’s critics — from both parties — question the governor’s true motives, given that he’s famously the son of a former governor, the late Mario Cuomo, who long contemplated but never took the plunge into a presidential run.

Western New York Assemblyman Steve Hawley, a Republican, said Cuomo’s road trip was nothing more than a dry run for a presidential campaign. And an excuse to flee lawmakers, many of whom blame Cuomo for killing their first pay rise in 18 years late last year.

Or as Ed Cox, chairman of the state Republican Party put it, « Andrew Cuomo would like to run away from New York state and go where his father didn’t go — to Washington. »

Others note that while Cuomo did take his message to the hinterlands, there were no stops in any of the 20 mostly rural counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican during the presidential election.

Democratic Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi said Cuomo was treating those areas « like New York state’s version of ‘flyover country.' »

A divided-down-the-middle county ponders a new president

A block from Nebraska’s Capitol, with its unique one-chamber, nonpartisan Legislature, is the lobbying office of Bill Mueller and Kim Robak, who embody the make-it-work spirit of this city: They’re husband and wife, Republican and Democrat.

And though neither was a Donald Trump booster, they are trying to remain positive about his presidency and even hope it might make hyperpartisan Washington, D.C., a bit more like Lincoln.

« Wouldn’t it be cool if it could actually work? » says Robak, with a trace of the peppy small-town girl she once was before rising through the political ranks to serve as her state’s lieutenant governor. « I’m not holding my breath, but if we could actually break the gridlock? That’s what the voters want. »

« It’s not starting off in that direction, » says her less-optimistic-sounding husband, as Republicans in Congress gear up to repeal the Affordable Care Act. « You should have listened to MSNBC this morning. It’s white and black, good and bad, God and the devil — and if you’re in the other party, you’re the devil. »

Lancaster County, home to Lincoln as well as the politically diverse Mueller-Robak family, is among the most evenly split on political lines of any major county in the nation. Hillary Clinton won here by only 310 votes out of 132,569 cast.

And yet, in the polarized America that Donald Trump takes the helm of, this place has somehow risen above the divisiveness, or at least learned how to live peacefully in opposition. Democrats and Republicans reside amiably side-by-side in farmhouses on gravel roads, old brick buildings converted to condos in the city center, or subdivisions of prairie-style houses in between.

They speak cautiously about their expectations for the Trump administration. Maybe it’s their low-key Midwestern attitude, or that people are simply exhausted after the grueling campaign of 2016.

« A lot of the quiet is because no one is exactly sure what’s going to happen, » says Ari Kohen, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, who contrasts the ideological diversity of his students with the blanket liberalism of those he taught on the East Coast. « People keep asking me what’s going to happen, and I keep telling them no one knows. »

That uncertainty crosses party lines.

« We’ll find out pretty soon if it’s going to work or not, » says Eddie Kramer, 29, before tucking into eggs and hash browns with his wife, Abby, at a firehouse-themed cafe in town.

If it works, the Kramers, who both work for insurance companies and voted for Trump, hope their health insurance bills shrink. The monthly premiums for them and their two children increased about $50 last year, and they had to pay $80 for required medications after their 7-year-old’s tonsils were removed.

Still, they’ve tried to keep the Trump talk down since Election Day.

« We have a lot of friends on both sides, » Abby Kramer says. « We try to keep our opinions to ourselves because we don’t want to offend anyone. »

With its population of 277,000, Lincoln is a big city for Austin Wendt, a computer science major at the university. He’s from the agricultural town of Columbus, Nebraska, 78 miles to the north. « It would be an understatement to say I was raised Republican, » he says.

On Election Day, Wendt watched the returns with friends, some Trump supporters, some Clinton supporters. He expected to have a nice drink while watching his candidate, Trump, lose. Instead, his Clinton friends melted down.

Wendt wants Trump to follow through on his promise to stop illegal immigration to help Americans reclaim jobs he believes have been taken by immigrants. « We have these laws in place and they’re not being carried out, » he says.

But he’s conflicted: One of his closest friends at the university is a student from Brazil who’s gotten a job with Microsoft but fears losing his work visa if Trump follows through on his campaign promises. Wendt himself has a programming job lined up after he graduates this spring.

Across town, Suliman Bandas teaches English as a Second Language, his students immigrants and refugees from Iraq who say they feel safe in a town that, so far, tolerates difference. But Bandas, a refugee from the Sudan, worries about America’s reputation as « a country of refuge, a country of protection » under Trump.

« It should not be up to a president to change a country’s value and principle, » he says.

Vincent Powers is also looking ahead warily. The outgoing chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, he thinks « it’s going to be worse than anyone imagines. » He’s not worried for himself; he’s a successful plaintiff’s attorney and expects to benefit from Trump’s proposed tax cuts tilted toward the wealthy. He is concerned for immigrants and those who depend on the Affordable Care Act or government aid.

But Powers finds solace in his hometown and his friends and neighbors, many of whom voted for Trump. « The thing about Nebraska is, we don’t have mountains, we don’t have any oceans. All we have is people, » he says.

« We have a great quality of life, and I’m not going to let politics sap the way I approach life. »

In Georgia, 2 Trumps exist across urban, rural divide

Patti Thomas owns a flower shop in the north Georgia town of Lula. Xavier Bryant runs an independent pharmacy just outside Atlanta. Looking toward the inauguration of an entrepreneur as president, the two share this expectation: Donald Trump will be good for business.

« He’s already proven he can turn things around, » the 52-year-old Thomas says, crediting Trump with Ford Motor Co.’s recent announcement that it would scrap a planned Mexico plant while expanding in Michigan. « Just his business enthusiasm, we’ve been lacking that. »

« My intuition, » the 33-year-old Bryant agrees, « is telling me that small business owners will win » in Trump’s economy.

But beyond that commonality, Thomas and Bryant — a white baby boomer from a tiny town and a black millennial from the big city — illuminate widening cultural fissures that help explain Trump’s rise and may well define his presidency.

Trump draws his strength from places like Lula, a railroad town with 2,800 residents and no stoplight in the central business district. He won almost 3 out of 4 votes cast in surrounding Hall County, which abuts the multi-county cluster that makes up metro Atlanta. Even with a growing Hispanic population, Hall is whiter than Georgia and the United States as a whole, and conservatism carries the day.

« This is Trump country up here, » explains Margaret Luther, who works in Thomas’ flower shop, festooned with fresh and artificial flowers, crosses for religious arrangements and a conspicuous wreath celebrating the University of Georgia Bulldogs.

Bryant, meanwhile, hails from DeKalb County, a Democratic stronghold next to downtown Atlanta. Hillary Clinton won 4 out of 5 DeKalb votes, capitalizing on a large African-American population, a burgeoning Hispanic community and white liberals, many of them from elsewhere.

The dynamics at play in these two Georgia settings, just a short interstate drive apart, match national trends that helped give Trump his victory. According to an Associated Press count, Clinton won just 487 counties across the U.S., most of them urban, while Trump carried 2,626, mostly suburban and rural.

Conversations in Hall and DeKalb counties quickly reveal some of the sharp distinctions between the disparate Americas Trump will lead, even if some are exaggerated by perceptions each side has about the other.

In Hall County, Joe Thomas, Patti’s husband, praises Trump as a « non-politician » who doesn’t have to answer to establishment players. Patti Thomas says that style spoke to non-urban dwellers who see a nation increasingly dominated and defined by cities. The fact that Trump himself is from New York City doesn’t matter, her husband adds, because of his « force of personality. »

But at a graffiti- and mural-covered hipster coffee shop in East Atlanta, 37-year-old Jessica Greene counters that what people like the Thomases see as refreshing moxie amounts to « egomaniacal … control issues » that leave her leery and « in a very dark place about it all. »

She adds that, even if it « makes me sound like a jerk, » she sees Trump’s base outside urban confines as reactionary and ill-informed, driven by religious and social beliefs that can amount to bigotry, intended or not. Greene, a stay-at-home mother, and Bryant, the pharmacist, both pointed to their own faiths as justification for their more liberal views.

In Lula, « most Christian-based homes were for Trump, » says 33-year-old waitress Ashley Chandler, but neither she nor those at the Thomases’ flower shop bring up their faith or hot-button social issues like abortion or same-sex marriage until asked.

Discussing differences in city life and small towns, Patti Thomas mentions crime, wondering aloud whether Atlanta residents feel safe. Chandler refers to the Black Lives Matter demonstrations she’s seen broadcast on Atlanta television stations. « I mean, there were people sitting in the streets protesting the police, » she says.

Back in East Atlanta, 36-year-old Kenneth Bota faults that depiction of urban life as part of Trump’s « false narrative » about African-Americans. Over the weekend, Trump took to Twitter to blast Atlanta, specifically the district of Rep. John Lewis, who had called him an « illegitimate president. » Trump said the district was « in horrible shape and falling apart (not to the mention crime infested). »

Rather than « dividing our communities, » Bota says Trump and his supporters should see places like Atlanta and DeKalb County as « different religions and cultures (living) as neighbors. »

If there is any real agreement across the gulf between Hall and DeKalb, it is perhaps that Trump is but one citizen, however powerful.

« They all make promises to get elected, » says Chandler, the Lula waitress, explaining that her measure for Trump’s success is modest: « Maybe he can make it less of a struggle » for people like her.

In DeKalb, Xavier Bryant says he’ll embrace Inauguration Day as a reminder of what he can do himself — including « give off more good energy. »

He adds: « It’s all the small parts that make the whole. »

2 counties, 2 views: Trump ‘scary,’ or ‘give the guy a year’

Towns along the Susquehanna River are filled with people whose grandparents worked in coal mines, garment factories and small manufacturing companies. But those jobs are long gone in Luzerne County, and Wilkes-Barre, the county seat, has seen its population drop by more than half. Dozens of public officials have fallen to scandal.

All of which helps explain how Ed Harry — who, at 70, has spent most of his working life as a union president and a Democratic party activist, running phone banks for candidates and even serving as a delegate for Bill Clinton in 1992 — became an unlikely apostle for Donald Trump.

When the billionaire businessman and reality TV star entered the presidential race, « I laughed, like everyone else, » Harry says. Then he took note of Trump’s opposition. « The Rs said they hated him, the Ds wanted no part of him, the lobbyists didn’t like him. China came out against him, India came out against him, Mexico came out against him.

« And I said, ‘I think I might have a candidate.' »

Harry, who had grown disillusioned with what he saw as Washington’s broken and corrupt politics, switched parties, publicly endorsed Trump and resigned his labor post. He expects the new president to renegotiate trade deals and reduce corporate taxes, which he believes will help lure back manufacturing jobs. And he is not alone.

In Luzerne County, Trump crushed Hillary Clinton by 20 points — in no small part because lifelong Democrats like Harry believed she was the candidate of Wall Street, ignoring the working class while taking its vote for granted. As Trump enters office, these largely older, white, blue-collar voters want him to keep his promise on manufacturing jobs, rebuild deteriorating roads and bridges, crack down on illegal immigration and « drain the swamp. »

« There’s no hope the way things were, » Harry explains. « It had to be something different. »

And listen to Tom Pikas, who is also counting on Trump to bring change. The 61-year-old Wilkes-Barre native remembers a time when you could easily get a decent-paying job right out of high school. He worked in a shoe factory, then for an electrical contractor, and downtown Wilkes-Barre pulsed with life. « This used to be a nice town, » Pikas says.

More recently, Pikas has toiled in a series of temp jobs, the last one paying $8 an hour. Now looking for work, he found himself at the unemployment office this month, enrolling in a jobs program for seniors. The waiting area was packed.

He has faith that Trump will find a way to turn things around, but also counsels patience. « Some people expect he’s gonna do miracles the first month, » Pikas says. « No. No. You gotta at least give the guy a year. »

At a bar up the street, William Chase, 55, a construction foreman recovering from surgeries to his back and both knees, says most of the people in his circle are as hopeful about the future as he is.

« I want to be proud of my area again, » he says.

But just 90 minutes or so down the road, one hears a very different set of voices.

In the wealthy Philadelphia suburbs, where million-dollar homes are advertised for sale and luxury cars fill the parking lot of an organic grocery, the pocketbook issues raised in Luzerne County take a back seat for many.

As Inauguration Day draws near, many people in Chester County — Pennsylvania’s richest, where Clinton won by roughly 9 points despite a Republican majority — remain unsettled by Trump’s volatility, demeanor and offensive comments about women, immigrants and others.

« He kind of frightens me, » says business owner Keely Comstock Shaw, 34, who voted a straight Republican ticket, except for the top office.

« I see him as really breaking all the rules, throwing them all aside, and that’s what is scary to me, » adds Kate Young, a 43-year-old Democrat and stay-at-home mom who lives in West Chester, a bustling college town.

The 2016 election compelled Young to become politically active for the first time. Upset that her candidate won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College vote, she joined an organization that’s fighting to end gerrymandered legislative districts.

Young predicts Trump will ignore global warming, roll back environmental protections and create a hostile environment for women and minorities. She also doubts he will be able to produce the manufacturing jobs that voters in places like Luzerne County say they want, citing the rise of automation.

« If that’s what people were hoping to get, » she says, « I just think the world economy is moving in a different direction. »

Trump, in flap with civil rights icon, meets with MLK’s son

Days before taking office, President-elect Donald Trump attempted to navigate the fallout of his flap with a civil rights leader and colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while also losing a member of his incoming administration to accusations of plagiarism.

Trump on Monday met with one of King’s sons on the holiday marking the life of the slain American icon just days after the president-elect attacked Rep. John Lewis on Twitter. Lewis and the elder King were among the Big Six leaders of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Trump accused Lewis, D-Ga., for being « all talk » after Lewis questioned the legitimacy of Trump’s election. The president-elect also advised the veteran congressman to pay more attention to his « crime ridden » Atlanta-area district. Trump’s comments drew widespread criticism and have done little to reassure those uneasy about the transition from the nation’s first black president to a president-elect still struggling to connect with most nonwhite voters.

Martin Luther King III downplayed the slight, saying that « in the heat of emotion a lot of things get said on both sides. » King, who said he pressed Trump on the need for voting reform to increase participation, deemed the meeting « constructive. » King said that while he disagreed with the president-elect’s comments, he believed « at some point in this nation we’ve got to move forward. »

« He said that he is going to represent all Americans. He said that over and over again, » King told reporters in the lobby of Trump Tower after the nearly hourlong meeting. « I believe that’s his intent, but I think we also have to consistently engage with pressure, public pressure. It doesn’t happen automatically. »

Trump, who struggled for support from minority voters on Election Day, briefly joined King in the lobby but ignored reporters’ shouted questions about his comments about Lewis.

Lewis had suggested that Trump’s November victory was delegitimized due to Russian interference and said he would boycott Friday’s Inauguration. More than two dozen Democratic members of Congress have said they will sit out the Trump ceremony. Among them is Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen, who said Monday that « this president ‘semi-elect’ does not deserve to be president of the United States. He has not exhibited the characteristics or the values that we hold dear. »

The Martin Luther King holiday is meant to honor community service and volunteerism, and many Americans, including President Barack Obama, spend part of the day doing a service project of some kind. Trump, who cancelled a planned trip to Washington, spent the day inside the Manhattan skyscraper that bears his name.

Meanwhile, conservative media commentator Monica Crowley will not be joining the Trump administration following accusations of plagiarism, according to a transition official.

Crowley, a frequent on-air presence at Fox News Channel, had been slated to join Trump’s National Security Council as a director of strategic communications. On Monday, she withdrew her name from consideration after CNN reported last week that several passages in a 2012 book Crowley wrote were plagiarized. Publisher HarperCollins then pulled the book.

Crowley’s retreat was first reported by The Washington Times. The transition official confirmed the decision on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Trump has continued to lash out at his critics in the intelligence community and questioned whether the CIA director himself was « the leaker of fake news » in a Sunday night tweet.

The extraordinary criticism from the incoming president came hours after CIA chief John Brennan charged that Trump lacks a full understanding of the threat Moscow poses to the United States, delivering a public lecture to the president-elect that further highlighted the bitter state of Trump’s relations with American intelligence agencies.

« Now that he’s going to have an opportunity to do something for our national security as opposed to talking and tweeting, he’s going to have tremendous responsibility to make sure that U.S. and national security interests are protected, » Brennan said on « Fox News Sunday, » warning that the president-elect’s impulsivity could be dangerous.

Trump shot back in a Twitter post Sunday, saying: « Oh really, couldn’t do much worse – just look at Syria (red line), Crimea, Ukraine and the buildup of Russian nukes. Not good! Was this the leaker of Fake News? »

Additionally, European Union nations bracing for Trump’s ascension showed defiance Monday in the face of the president-elect’s stinging comments on everything from NATO and German cars to the crumbling of the EU itself.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the U.S. president-elect’s view that NATO was obsolete and his criticism that European allied members aren’t paying their fair share had « caused astonishment. »

Trump also said Britain’s decision to leave the 28-nation European Union would « end up being a great thing, » and he predicted that other countries would also leave.

At a meeting of EU ministers, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said the best response to such comments was simple — « it is the unity of the Europeans. »

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted: « We Europeans have our fate in our own hands. »

88 million tons a year: Auditors decry EU food waste

The sheer waste of food had been bothering teacher Marijke De Jongh for so long that two years ago she set up a pop-up restaurant to serve perfectly good groceries and meat that were approaching their expiry date.

With her Rekub team, she followed it up with an app that brings thousands of consumers to retail shops were they can buy food closing in on its sell-by date.

Still, the efforts of a small group of conscientious consumers are no match for the masses that still waste food from farm to fork.

The European Court of Auditors on Tuesday chided the European Union’s executive branch in a report, « Combating Food Waste, » that decried the bloc’s lack of effort in reducing the food waste. It estimated the EU wastes 88 million tons of food a year for a population of 510 million.

« The Commission is not combating the food waste effectively, » said ECA member Bettina Jakobsen, noting a lack of strategy and inspiration being used to tackle the problem.

The report said more efforts should be made all along the food chain and special precautions should be taken when setting farm policy to make sure that less produce is discarded. An EU study, however, shows about half that waste can still be tied to households, not policy.

The ECA also recommended making food donations easier, since they are still mired in legal and tax issues that sometimes become a disincentive for food producers to give food away. It said with better EU regulations that could be turned around.

At the same time, De Jongh continues to try to make a difference at a local level in Antwerp, northern Belgium. After her pop-up experiment in 2015, she is planning a permanent Rekub eatery now.

« We have to keep this moving and put it on everyone’s radar, » she said.

Venezuela debuts new banknotes amid soaring inflation

Venezuelans stood in long ATM lines Monday to take out new, larger-denominated bills that President Nicolas Maduro hopes will help stabilize the crisis-wracked economy.

Maduro last month said he was scrapping circulation of the most used bill, the 100-bolivar note, and replacing it with new bills ranging from 500 to 20,000 bolivars.

Residents in Caracas expressed shock at seeing bills with so many zeros — a sign of how worthless the bolivar has become amid triple-digit inflation and a collapse in foreign exchange reserves that has led to severe food shortages.

« I never thought I’d have such a big bill in my hands, » Milena Molina, a 35-year-old sales clerk, said as she inspected crisp, new 500-bolivar notes she had just withdrawn. « But with the inflation we’re suffering, the notes we had weren’t worth anything and you always had to go around with huge packages of bills. »

Monday’s rollout of the first batch of imported notes came weeks later than the government had originally promised. Maduro last month ordered the 100-bolivar note to be withdrawn from use well before the replacement bills were ready, leading to widespread chaos as Venezuelans rushed to spend the bills before they were taken out of circulation.

With cash running out, looting and protests were widespread and Maduro had to backtrack. On Sunday, he extended for the third time, until Feb. 20, the deadline for the 100-bolivar note to remain legal tender.

While the new denominations should make cash transactions easier the relief may be short-lived: the 20,000-bolivar note is worth less than $6 on the widely used black market, where Venezuelans turn when they can’t purchase dollars at the tightly controlled official rate. With inflation forecast by the International Monetary Fund to hit four digits this year, few economists expect the currency to rebound any time soon.

Seeking to combat the black market, the government on Monday inaugurated four currency exchange houses near the border with Colombia where Venezuelans will be able to purchase Colombian pesos at a favorable exchange rate of 4 pesos per bolivar. The bolivar currently is worth just a quarter of that amount at exchange houses over the border in Colombia.

Gov. Jose Vielma Mora of Tachira state said the Venezuelan central bank has at its disposal a large amount of pesos to meet what is expected to be strong demand for hard currency. All the same, purchases will be capped at between $200 and $300 and it was hard to find anyone Monday who had managed to buy pesos.

Opponents of Maduro said that in trying to set an exchange rate for pesos, authorities are paving the way for corruption, saying only certain individuals and companies close to the government will be able to purchase them at the official rate.

Academics race to save rare colonial documents in Cuba
An American team of academics is racing to preserve millions of Cuban historical documents before they are lost to the elements and poor storage conditions.

Many of the documents shed light on the slave trade, an integral part of Cuba’s colonial history that was intertwined with that of the United States.

David Lafevor, a history professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, and his brother Matthew, a geography professor at the University of Alabama, have worked since 2005 to make computer copies of millions of documents mouldering in damp storage spaces on the island.

Their latest project is a partnership between the British Library Foundation and Vanderbilt University to capture almost 2 million documents in digital form, a treasure trove stretching back to the mid-16th century of documents about early island life and the slave trade.

David Lafevor said there is nothing like Cuba’s documentary record in the U.S.

Though no less ruthless when it came to slavery than the Anglos to the north, the Spanish recognized the « personhood » of slaves once they were baptized into the Catholic Church. Their births, marital status, national origin and deaths were all duly recorded in the town records and stored in church archives, leaving a historical record of blacks and their lives far more detailed than that in the U.S.

Churches became the repository of much of this history because of their central role in island life and because church officials were painstaking documentarians who often were the most educated in their communities, David Lafevor said in an interview.

« The documents are not only pertinent to the Catholic Church because the church was often the most substantial building in town, so other documents were kept there as well, » he said.

For instance, while digitizing some documents in the town of Colon, a slave trading post in colonial days that is about 175 kilometers (about 110 miles) east of Havana, Lafevor discovered that a nearby town was founded by former American slaves who had fled Spanish-ruled Florida on the mainland.

The town, Ceiba Mocha, was once known as Ceiba Mocha de la Nueva St. Augustine, a reference to the city that was the capital of Spanish Florida in the 18th century. None of the town’s residents were aware of its origins.

Cuba’s Catholic Church has played a major role in the preservation project, granting access to church archives around the island and assisting in identifying important documents.

Church officials like Deacon Felix Knight of the colonial Santo Espirito Church in Old Havana, tucked away in a warren of narrow lanes in the city’s colonial heart, work with the academics to find and preserve old documents.

« These books reflect life, aspects of the sacramental life of blacks, obviously of whites also, » Knight said. « The important thing is to preserve as many of them as possible. »

It is especially important to preserve the history of the Afro-Cuban community, whose history has not been well documented in Cuba, he added.

Slavery wasn’t outlawed in Cuba until 1886, and American slavers had used the island as a transshipment point for African slaves destined for U.S. slave markets in the South.

« We are working … to maintain and recover that which is irreplaceable, a legacy. It’s a patrimony, a way of seeing that is very personal, » Knight said, holding a book from 1674 that contains records of black births, marriages, deaths and civil status.

The process of digitizing the papers can be painstaking. Each ancient volume is carefully removed from storage and placed on a black cloth used for background. Then each page is slowly opened and photographed. An average book can contain hundreds of pages, all in various conditions of preservation, the writing faded from age and the elements.

The leather-bound volumes are remarkably resistant to decay, considering that many are stored in wooden cabinets in places with little climate control. Knight said churches were built in the colonial era to maximize air flow in the heavy tropical climate. High ceilings and thick walls kept the interiors of the churches cool and dry, helping to preserve the paper and leather-bound records.

Cheaper travel and more choices for accommodations have made the recovery project easier, Lafevor said, referring to a normalization process begun by the Obama administration two years ago. The Tennessee-based team can now fly directly to the island from the U.S., avoiding expensive third-country travel. But even more important, Lafevor said, the growth of « casa particulares, » the private homes that rent rooms to visitors, gives them more and cheaper choices for places to stay, allowing them to work for a month at a time.

Lafevor said no one knows how many millions of documents exist in storage, nor how many have been lost to storms, pirate attacks, war and civil unrest, but the project seeks to preserve as many as possible before more are lost to history. He said the current project will run until 2018 and hopes to digitize almost 2 million documents in four cities around the island.

Still, he cautioned, the project is only a small step toward preserving a vibrant historical record, with millions of more documents spanning 500 years left to preserve around the island.