More than 100,000 people who were dismissed from their jobs in the wake of the failed coup in Turkey in 2016 are still awaiting justice – and their lives have been shattered, according to Amnesty International. The human rights group says in most cases the government has failed to present any evidence justifying the mass purge of public workers. Dozens of journalists and human rights workers have also been arrested since the failed coup attempt. More from Henry Ridgwell.
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NATO and Russia envoys on Wednesday discussed their respective large-scale military exercises and a Cold War-era missile treaty that Washington vows to quit over accusations of Russian non-compliance, the Western alliance said.

The talks, the first between the former Cold War foes since May, came against a backdrop of renewed tensions between the West and Russia, most notably over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and involvement in eastern Ukraine.

A NATO statement said the sides had an “open exchange” of views on Ukraine, Russia’s Vostok military exercises and NATO’s ongoing Trident Juncture drills, as well as on Afghanistan and hybrid security threats.

NATO this month launched its largest exercises since the Cold War in Norway, whose non-NATO Nordic neighbors Sweden and Finland have drawn closer to the alliance since being spooked by Russia’s role in the turmoil in Ukraine.

NATO troops are manoeuvring close to the borders of Russia, which held its huge annual Vostok military drill in September. The two are regularly irked by each other’s exercises, where a show of force and deterrence play a major role.

The drills have steadily grown in size in recent years as an atmosphere of stand-off between Russia and the West has grown. Russia’s 2018 edition of Vostok mobilized 300,000 troops and included joint exercises with the Chinese army — the biggest such drills since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg also called on Russia to make quick changes to comply in full with the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Russia denies violating it.

“We all agree that the INF Treaty has been crucial to Euro-Atlantic security … Allies have repeatedly expressed serious concerns about the new Russian missile system, known as the 9M729 or SSC-8,” Stoltenberg said in the statement.

He said development of the SSC-8 land-based, intermediate-range Cruise missile posed “a serious risk to strategic stability.”

“NATO has urged Russia repeatedly to address these concerns in a substantial and transparent way, and to actively engage in a constructive dialogue with the United States … We regret that Russia has not heeded our calls,” Stoltenberg added. At the same time, NATO hopes Washington — whose other rivals China or Iran are not constrained by the treaty that rid Europe of land-based nuclear missiles — will not pull out in the end. 

European leaders worry any collapse of the INF treaty could lead to a new, destabilizing arms race.
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Britain’s Brexit secretary has told lawmakers that he expects a long-elusive divorce deal with the European Union to be finalized before November 21, though there is still little sign of a breakthrough on the vexed issue of the Irish border.

Dominic Raab told Parliament’s Exiting the EU Committee in a letter that he would give evidence to the panel “when a deal is finalized, and currently expect 21 November to be suitable.”

The committee released the October 24 letter Wednesday. Raab’s Department for Exiting the European Union said later “there is no set date for the negotiations to conclude” and that the secretary mentioned November 21 in response to a suggestion that he appear before the committee on that date.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but London and Brussels have not reached an agreement on their divorce terms and a smooth transition to a new relationship. The stalemate has heightened fears that the U.K. might leave without a deal in place, leading to chaos at ports and economic turmoil.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said a Brexit deal is 95 percent done, but the two sides remain at odds over the issue of the border between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

Britain and the EU agree there must be no customs posts or other barriers that could disrupt businesses and residents on either side of the border and undermine Northern Ireland’s hard-won peace process. But the two parties have rejected each other’s proposed solution.

Raab said in his letter that “despite our differences, we are not far from an agreement on this issue.”

He said the U.K. and the EU agree “on the principle of a U.K.-wide customs backstop” – a plan to keep the U.K. in a customs union with the bloc, rendering border checks on goods unnecessary.

Britain has said such a solution must be temporary, while the EU wants a permanent fix. But Raab said agreement should be possible, and “the end is now firmly in sight.”

An October 17-18 EU summit that had been billed as the deadline for a breakthrough ended with the talks still deadlocked. But behind-the-scenes talks have continued.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said Wednesday in Paris that a deal in the next month was feasible, but “if they want to conclude the text of a withdrawal treaty in November, then the negotiations need to intensify.”

Any agreement reached by the two sides must be approved by the British and European parliaments. 

May’s proposed deal faces strong domestic opposition both from pro-Brexit lawmakers, who say it keeps Britain bound too closely to the bloc, and from pro-EU legislators, who argue it will create barriers between the U.K. and its biggest trading partner.

 
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Adding 16 teams to the 2022 World Cup is about far more than sports. The head of world soccer thinks the proposal can help solve the bitter diplomatic fight between host Qatar and a Saudi Arabian-led coalition trying to isolate the tiny nation.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has visions of the World Cup uniting the region. He says the World Cup should expand from 32 to 48 teams by playing some of the matches in stadiums in the very nations who have cut ties with Qatar and closed land, air and sea passage to and from the oil-rich nation of 2.6 million people, all but about 300,000 of them foreign workers.

Qatar will have eight stadiums to host 64 games in an already-congested 28-day window. The World Cup was moved from June-July to November-December because of the extreme heat in the Persian Gulf, and the tournament schedule was condensed to minimize the disruption to the top leagues around the world.

Adding 16 more nations would mean 80 games, and that would require more stadiums. Infantino asked the emir of Qatar if he would consider allowing matches to be held in other nations, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, all are part of an economic and travel boycott against his country.

“This is something that would probably be a nice message,” Infantino said.

When the joint bid from the United States, Canada and Mexico won the right to host the 2026 World Cup in June, a trade fight was rumbling between the North American nations. Eventually, a new trade pact was negotiated.

At the time of the 2026 vote, “the relations were a little bit tense right between these countries,” Infantino said. “It’s something that’s comparable with the Gulf region. But for me, you know if there is a possibility [of sharing games], if there is a chance at least to even discuss, we should try.”

With travel to Qatar currently blocked by its neighbors, Infantino cautions that “maybe it will never happen.” He says he brought it up with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar, and the emir was open to the idea.

“When we speak it remains between us of course,” Infantino said. “What is, I think, important is that he told us, `Let’s continue the discussions together and see if this can (work).”‘

Qatar’s World Cup organizing committee is wary about changing plans almost a decade in the making, and having already irritated European soccer leagues with the FIFA-imposed switch to start in November.

“We need to know pretty soon,” said Nasser Al Khater, deputy secretary general of the organizing committee. “So we need to understand basically we’re looking to change the format, increase the number of days. Can we do it with eight [stadiums] and increasing the number of days?”

The FIFA membership has already voted on expanding its showpiece even to 48 teams in 2026. Infantino has been saying since March he is considering fast-tracking those plans by four years and acknowledged there has been little progress since then.

“Obviously we cannot even start discussing anything like that in a serious way without Qatar,” Infantino said. “I was discussing with [Qatar] federation officials and also with the Emir of Qatar and they want to look at it together with us and what kind of options … sharing some matches with some other countries or not … and these kind of things. These are topics that first, of course, the Qataris, of course, have to be comfortable with. Could they do it on their own? No.”

Infantino hopes to have resolved the number of finalists by March, with the qualifying draw scheduled for next year. If new conditions are added to the 2022 schedule, a bidding process for the extra games might be necessary.

“This is all will all be part of their studies and the discussions,” Infantino said. “We’ll study it we have to make sure that we have a proper process in place.”

The decision to award the tournament to Qatar in a 2010 vote forced FIFA to deal with concerns about labor conditions for migrant workers, many building the stadiums. The bidding process for the 2026 World Cup was the first where FIFA assessed the human rights records of countries.

If Qatar’s neighbors joined in hosting games in 2022, human rights conditions would come into focus again.

“This will obviously be part of discussions,” Infantino said. “Without the decision to go to Qatar would anything have changed? Who knows?But certainly, the fact that there was a World Cup in the spotlight for everyone has contributed to the fact that we are going, we’re speaking to them and we’re trying to tell them, `Guys try at least to change and so on.”‘

The United Arab Emirates already has close ties to FIFA, hosting the Club World Cup again in Abu Dhabi in December.

Saudi Arabia would be keen on joining the 2022 World Cup but it has angered soccer federations by hosting a television network that has allegedly been pirating Qatar’s beIN Sports since the boycott of Doha began in 2017.

A partnership with the Saudis could also be problematic in the fallout from the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi after he entered the country’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

“There are other countries in the region as well,” Infantino said, when asked about Saudi Arabia.

Qatar is still waiting for a proper consultation process to begin.

“Right now, as of today, we’re hosting a 32 team World Cup,” Al Khater said. “Our infrastructure, our stadiums are all based on the 32-team World Cup. That’s as much as we know and that’s as much as it’s confirmed by now.”
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The U.N.’s political chief cautioned Tuesday that planned local elections in two separatist areas of eastern Ukraine next month could contradict international agreements. 

“The U.N. urges all parties to avoid any unilateral steps that could deepen the divide or depart from the spirit and letter of the Minsk agreements,” Rosemary DiCarlo told a Security Council meeting on the issue. 

In 2015, France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine and pro-Russia separatists signed the Minsk agreement in the Belarus capital. It seeks to halt the fighting through a cease-fire and the withdrawal of foreign troops and heavy weapons, and open the way to a permanent, legal and political solution to the conflict in Ukraine, which began in 2014. 

De facto authorities in the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have announced that they plan to hold elections on Nov. 11. 

“As we understand, two separate ballots in both Donetsk and Luhansk are reportedly being planned: one for the “head of Republic” and one for the “People’s Councils,” DiCarlo said. She said the posts will reportedly be for five-year terms. 

She noted that election-related matters are covered in the Minsk agreements. 

“I therefore caution that any such measures taken outside Ukraine’s constitutional and legal framework would be incompatible with the Minsk agreements,” she said. 

Western council members echoed her concerns and condemned the planned ballot.

“These sham elections staged by Russia run directly counter to efforts to implement the Minsk peace agreements,” said U.S. deputy U.N. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen. “The elections also obstruct and undermine efforts to end the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.”

“We do see these so-called elections as illegitimate,” said British Ambassador Karen Pierce. “They are the latest example in the Russian campaign to destabilize Ukraine. They are a clear breach of the Minsk agreements, and they are illegal under Ukrainian law.”

Even China, a close ally of Moscow, expressed concerns. 

“China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, including Ukraine, and opposes the interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs by any external forces,” Beijing’s deputy envoy told the council. 

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the criticism. 

“Today, we are witnesses of the latest round of hypocrisy — the total and inexcusable sabotage by Kyiv of the Minsk agreements, over the long term, factually from Day One, has been completely ignored,” Nebenzia said. “Instead of recognizing this fact, in the discussion in the Security Council we are discussing the forthcoming elections in November, which are a necessary measure in conditions of sabotage by Kyiv of its political commitments.”

He said European and American sanctions imposed on Moscow because of the Ukrainian situation is an invitation to Kyiv to continue undermining its Minsk obligations because Russia will be the one to pay for it. 

Ukraine’s ambassador, Volodymyr Yelchenko, said holding these “so-called early elections’ would amount to putting armed gangs’ leaders in seats in illegitimate representative bodies.” He said the move is a “provocation” and a “further escalation” of the situation by Russia. 

While he acknowledged to reporters later that there is little Kyiv authorities can do to stop the voting from going forward, he said the results would be null and void and not be recognized by Ukraine or the international community. 

After a brief calm over the summer months, the U.N. said during the past six weeks, cease-fire violations have spiked, and casualty levels have risen. It also reports increased tensions in the Sea of Azov, warning there is a “need to avoid any risk of escalation, provocation or miscalculation.” 

The Kyiv government has been clashing with Russian-backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine since 2014. The United Nations says more than 3,000 civilians have been killed, and up to 9,000 injured since the start of the conflict.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged on Tuesday a new development fund to tackle unemployment in Africa, a problem spurring the mass migration that has shaped her long premiership as it nears its end.

Merkel hosted a summit of African leaders a day after her announcement that she would retire from politics by 2021, which sent shockwaves across Europe and started a race to succeed her.

She needs the Compact with Africa summit to show that progress has been made in addressing the aftermath of one of the defining moments of her 13 years in power: her 2015 decision to open Germany’s doors to more than a million asylum seekers.

The Berlin summit, attended by 12 presidents and prime ministers including Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, is designed to showcase the continent as a stable destination for German investment.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde is also there, along with a host of international development officials.

The aim is to create good jobs for Africans, easing the poverty which, along with political instability and violence, has encouraged large numbers to head for Europe. But with Africa’s population growing at almost three percent a year, the task is enormous.

“We Europeans have a great interest in African states having a bright economic outlook,” Merkel said in her opening speech, announcing the fund to help small and medium-sized enterprises from both Europe and Africa to invest on the continent.

The 119,000 Africans who arrived in Europe in 2018, according to the International Organization for Migration, are the tip of the iceberg. International Labor Organization figures show that 16 million migrants were on the move within Africa in 2014.

While European Union countries invested $22 billion in Africa in 2017, breakneck economic growth will be needed to help bring down the migrant numbers.

Berlin hopes Germany’s manufacturing-based economy, which drove Eastern Europe’s rapid economic growth after the 1989 collapse of Communism, could turn things round.

Merkel needs results fast if she is to ensure the leadership of her Christian Democrats passes to a centrist ally, such as its general secretary, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

A marshall plan for Africa?

Other candidates for the party leadership, including Health Minister Jens Spahn or her old rival, the strongly pro-business Friedrich Merz, are well to her right politically and could be expected to want to challenge much of her legacy.

Merkel has said she will remain chancellor but that her current, fourth term up to 2021 will be her last. A whopping 71 percent of Germans welcomed Merkel’s decision, a poll released Tuesday by broadcasters RTL and n-tv showed.

Germany has introduced tax incentives for its companies to set up plants in Africa, reflecting her view that state aid must give way to private investment if jobs are to be created in their millions.

This would be part of a “Marshall Plan for Africa” – named after the U.S.-funded plan that helped to rebuild European states including Germany after World War II – that she sees as central to her legacy.

Merkel presented her decision to open Germany’s borders in 2015 as an unavoidable necessity driven by the vast scale of the human tide, that year mostly fleeing the civil war in Syria.

An agreement with Turkey sharply curtailed the arrival of refugees into the EU through Greece. But hundreds of thousands of mainly African migrants continued to travel across the Mediterranean, a flow that finally began to abate in the past year with improved efforts to halt smuggling from Libya.

The crisis has upturned European politics, bringing the far right to power in Italy and Austria, and in Germany revitalizing the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, whose demand that the country shut its borders to migrants helped to fuel its surge into parliament in last year’s election.

A successful outcome to the summit may help to strengthen Merkel’s case for remaining chancellor even after stepping down from the party leadership, and could quieten her coalition partners in Bavaria’s conservative CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD).

All three parties have suffered punishing setbacks in regional elections this month, building internal party pressure for them to switch leaders or break up the coalition.
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Major companies on Tuesday ruled out involvement in a new rescue of Alitalia, complicating a plan led by Rome in which state-controlled railway Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) will bid for the airline this week and bring in partners.

Alitalia was put under special administration last year, leaving the government once again looking to find a buyer to save the carrier. It will be the airline’s third rescue in a decade.

FS is due to present an offer for the whole of Alitalia on Wednesday subject to a series of conditions. FS’s offer would only be a “transitional phase,” a source close to the deal told Reuters.

The source added the deal would be completed in two separate steps, with FS picking up Alitalia on set conditions and then, at a later stage, being joined by an Italian partner and a international one, from the airline sector.

The source added there was very little visibility on next steps, and it was not clear which partners would join FS. “The situation is very messy,” the source said.

Earlier this month Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio suggested that state-controlled companies like oil major Eni , postal operator Poste and defense group Leonardo could all play a role in the relaunch.

Di Maio, also industry minister, said that there were many private investors also interested in Alitalia.

But on Tuesday Eni said that any suggestion that it might pick up a stake in the carrier was “groundless” and that it would not play a role in the rescue, a spokesperson said.

Leonardo too will not join any relaunch of Alitalia, which has already accumulated a loss of over 300 million euros ($340.86 million), a separate source close to the matter told Reuters.

“It would be crazy for Leonardo to enter this madness,” the source said. Shares in the group were down almost 1.5 percent at 1600 GMT after Italian dailies had reported that the company would be involved in an effort spearheaded by FS.

Last month Poste Chief Executive Matteo del Fante said the group was “not at all interested” in joining an overhaul effort for the airline.

Cash drain

Alitalia has cost Italian tax payers almost 10 billion euros over the last 20 years, more than the market capitalization of Air France-KLM, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian Air, Finnair and SAS added together, according to Andrea Giuricin, CEO of transport advisory firm TRA Consulting.

Last year Alitalia accounted for only 8.5 percent of the international traffic to and from Italy, Giuricin added, just under a third of Ryanair’s share.

The sale process was delayed due to the change of Italian government earlier this year, but the ruling coalition, that comprises the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League, pledged it would close a deal by Wednesday.

Germany’s Lufthansa said earlier on Tuesday that it had no interest in participating in a government-led restructuring effort.

Alitalia must pay back the Italian state almost 1 billion euros in a bridge loan and related interest by mid-December.

($1 = 0.8801 euros)
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday urged Saudi Arabia to reveal who gave the order to have Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed at Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul.

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Erdogan said the investigation into Khashoggi’s killing should be completed swiftly.

He said there is no point in excuses.

Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 Saudi suspects detained in Saudi Arabia for the Oct. 2 killing of Khashoggi. It is also seeking Saudi Arabia’s help in locating the slain journalist’s body, which, so far, has not been found.

During a memorial service in London late Monday, Khashoggi’s fiancee, Turkish national Hatice Cengiz said she was “disappointed in the leadership of many countries” in response to Khashoggi’s killing earlier this month in Istanbul. She called on U.S. President Donald Trump to “help reveal the truth” about his death at the hands of agents deployed by the kingdom.

Khashoggi was an exiled journalist who wrote several opinion columns for The Washington Post that were critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.

Cengiz said Trump “should not pave the way for a cover-up” of Khashoggi’s death. “Let’s not let money taint our conscience and compromise our values.”

Trump has called Khashoggi’s disappearance and death “one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups,” but has also said the U.S. should not be too critical of the regime because of a pending multi-billion dollar arms deal with Riyadh.

Khashoggi had gone into the Saudi consulate in the Turkish capital on October 2 to obtain paperwork he needed for his planned marriage to Cengiz — who waited for him outside the consulate — but was never seen again.

After numerous shifting explanations, the kingdom finally admitted that Khashoggi was murdered by a team of 15 agents inside the consulate.

Saudi Arabia has arrested 18 officials in connection with the plot to kill Khashoggi, while U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has revoked the visas of Saudi officials believed to have taken part in the killing.
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Folk dance groups from 11 Balkan countries gathered in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, Turkey for the 13th annual Balkan Folk Dance Festival. The dance groups performed in different districts of Izmir. Aside from Turkey, dance groups from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Greece came together to dance. VOA’s Soner Kizilkaya attended one of the festivals and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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Venice was inundated by an exceptional high tide Monday, putting three-quarters of the famed Italian lagoon city under water as large swaths of the rest of Italy experienced flooding and heavy winds that toppled trees and other objects, killing six people.

Tourists and residents alike donned high boots to navigate the streets of Venice after strong winds raised the water level 156 centimeters (over 5 feet) before receding. The water exceeded the raised walkways normally put out in flooded areas in Venice, forcing their removal. Transport officials closed the water bus system except to outlying islands because of the emergency.

Venice frequently floods when high winds push in water from the lagoon, but Monday’s levels were exceptional. The peak level was the highest reached since December 2008, according to Venice statistics.

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said a series of underwater barriers that are being erected in the lagoon would have prevented the inundation. The project, nicknamed Moses, is long overdue, beset by cost overruns and corruption scandals.

Brugnaro said he had asked to talk with Premier Giuseppe Conte to underline the urgency of the project, which would raise barriers when the tide reaches 109 centimeters (43 inches). That happens, on average, four times a year in Venice.

Residents and businesses typically reinforce their doors with metal or wooden panels to prevent water from entering the bottom floors, but photos on social media showed shop owners using water pumps this time to try to protect their wares.

Much of Italy is under alert for flooding from heavy rains, a problem exacerbated by a lack of maintenance of the country’s many river beds. High winds toppled trees that killed passers-by in four incidents in Naples, Lazio and Liguria.

Officials closed major tourist attractions in Rome, including the Colosseum and Roman Forum, early because of heavy rains.

Veneto regional governor Luca Zaia says flooding this week could reach the levels of the 1966 flood that struck both Venice and Florence. The Interior Ministry urged officials in storm-struck regions, about half of the country, to consider closing schools and offices for a second day Tuesday.
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President Tayyip Erdogan opened a new $11.7 billion airport outside Istanbul on Monday that officials say will be one of the world’s busiest, though delays mean it will not be fully operational until January.

The airport will be able to handle 90 million passengers a year, and can be expanded to accommodate as many as 200 million, Erdogan said.

For the first two months, however, it will be used for just a few flights within Turkey and to Azerbaijan and northern Cyprus — a setback for authorities hailing it as a centrepiece of the construction boom that has driven breakneck economic growth under Erdogan’s 15-year-old rule.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Erdogan said the hub would be called “Istanbul Airport,” and that it would further Turkey’s role in the integration of global economies.

“With the operation of Istanbul Airport, European air space will have to be restructured,” he said, adding that he expected it to be used for a large number of intercontinental flights.

The airport has been dogged by criticism over working conditions and safety standards. In February, the labor ministry said 27 workers had died since construction started in 2015, and last month police detained hundreds of protesting workers.

Former transport minister Ahmet Arslan originally said that all flights to and from Istanbu’s Ataturk Airport — one of Europe’s five busiest — would transfer to the new airport within 48 hours of Monday’s opening.

But the flagship carrier, Turkish Airlines, now says only some flights to Ankara, Izmir and Antalya, as well as international flights to northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan, will be using the new airport for now. Its other routes will remain at Ataturk for the rest of this year.

Ataturk Airport will be closed to commercial flights once operations move the new airport but it will retain its airport status and be used for aviation fairs, Erdogan said, adding the unused land would be turned into a park.

Istanbul is a major hub for transit flights, attracting lucrative transfer traffic this year from major airports in the Gulf as Turkey recovers from security worries, according to the travel data analysis company Forward Keys.

 
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The World Health Organization says air pollution kills hundreds of thousands of children every year and puts the physical health and neurological development of hundreds of millions of other youngsters at serious risk. The WHO is issuing a report titled “Air pollution and child health: Prescribing clean air” on the eve of the U.N. agency’s first-ever Global Conference on Air pollution and Health.

The World Health Organization reports more than 90 percent, or nearly 2 billion children under the age of 15, breathe toxic air every day. The WHO says debilitating problems associated with air pollution begin at conception and continue until adolescence.  

The report notes pregnant women exposed to polluted air are likely to give birth prematurely and have low-weight babies. A WHO scientist and expert on air pollution, Marie Noel Brune Drisse, warns that many babies will have neurodevelopment problems, resulting in lower IQs. 

“The fact is that air pollution is stunting our brains, even before we are born,” said Drisse. “The fact that it is leading to diseases that we may not be able to see immediately but look at much later in life like adult diseases. Our lung function and our respiratory systems are being altered during our development.” 

Drisse says this can lead to chronic respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as certain types of cancers later in life. In 2016, the report estimated that 600,000 children died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air. It said the heaviest toll is paid by children in low- and middle-income countries. The report found that the highest death rates among children between the ages of 5 and 14 from both ambient and household air pollution occur in the African region.

The report says switching to clean cooking and heating fuels and technologies could save the lives of many children. It says other measures for reducing the toxic impact of air pollution include moving away from fossil fuels.

The report recommends the use of cleaner, renewable energy sources, less dependence on private cars in favor of public transportation, and better waste management systems. WHO officials say the benefits from implementing such measures will be felt almost immediately.
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For the second time in a month, voters in a regional election in Germany have rebuffed Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition, further confirming that the political landscape in the country is transforming rapidly.Merkel has announced she will not seek reelection as chair of her party and said her current term as chancellor will be her last.

Voters in a regional election in the prosperous state of Hesse deserted in droves both Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the junior partner in her Berlin government, the Social Democrats (SPD).

Coming on the heels of an electoral setback for the governing coalition in Bavaria earlier this month, the trouncing in Hesse, which saw the Greens the biggest beneficiary, prompted questions about whether this defeat will ultimately spell the end of Angela Merkel. “Of course, we in the Christian Democrats are not happy. We need a new work culture in the governing coalition and a regeneration of the Christian Democrats,” said Annegret Kamp-Karrenbauer, the CDU’s secretary-general.

Pressure from within the Christian Democratic Party, CDU, was already mounting on Merkel before Sunday with internal critics saying at the very least she should not stand for reelection as the leader of the CDU in party elections scheduled for December. On Monday, Merkel acceded, confirming she will not seek reelection in December although she would stay on as chancellor until her current term ends in 2021.”I will not be seeking any political post after my term ends,” she said.

Merkel, 64, has led her party for 18 years and served five terms as Germany’s chancellor since 2005.

While Merkel’s CDU emerged as the leading vote-getter in Hesse, a state the party has dominated for two decades, it was expected to secure just 27 percent of the vote — more than 10 percent less than in an election five years ago. According to exit polls and projections from the provisional stages of the count, the Social Democrats are expected to lose as much as 11 percent from their previous total, and secure around 20 percent of the vote.

Sunday’s election is adding to the picture of a fragmentation of German politics, testimony to the continued resonance of the 2015 migration crisis. It confirms the country’s once traditional parties are in decline and are seen by a swathe of the electorate as no longer representing them adequately. In Hesse, the Greens’ share of the vote jumped from 8 percent to 20 percent; and the far-right Alternative for Germany, AfD, appeared to be on track to garner a 12 percent share.

The Hesse vote is demonstrating how Germany has become “politically adrift and fragmented with its political center, commonly known as Volksparteien, imploding,” said Frederick Kempe, president of the Atlantic Council, the Washington-based think tank. On the eve of the count he said the Hesse vote “could be the final blow for Merkel, who has been Europe’s glue and most influential leader for more than a decade.”

Known by some as the “Iron Lady” of German politics, Merkel is increasingly beleaguered and even her most faithful supporters are not convinced she will be able to see out her full electoral term due to end in 2021.  

Since the CDU’s poor performance in last year’s national parliamentary elections, Merkel has been beset by one crisis after another. Last month she lost her key parliamentary henchman, Volker Kauder when he was ousted by disgruntled coalition lawmakers. Merkel’s grand coalition has come close to collapse this year over migration issues and a scandal involving the country’s spy chief.

Sunday’s election is likely to have far-reaching consequences by adding further pressure on all the partners in Merkel’s national government to assess the viability of a coalition that is doing none of them any electoral good.

One third of SPD members were against joining Merkel’s coalition in the first place after last year’s federal elections.

“The state of the governing coalition is not acceptable,” SPD leader Andrea Nahles said to party members Sunday after the results were announced.

The problem for the traditional parties is how to halt the electoral fragmentation as the center ground of German politics erodes. As Germany’s old political guard cracks, it is compounding Merkel’s immediate problem of keeping intact her fragile coalition government, formed in March after four months of testy negotiations.

“Where there are losses, there have to be consequences,” said Helge Braun, Merkel’s chief of staff, told the German public broadcaster ARD. But he did not elaborate on the repercussions.

The electoral setback for the governing coalition in Hesse is all the more remarkable considering the state’s prosperity. Voters leaving polling stations expressed deep dissatisfaction with the condition of Merkel’s national coalition and complained about the constant infighting.

On Sunday, Hesse’s conservative governor, Volker Bouffier, told supporters, “The message this evening to the parties in the government in Berlin is clear: people want less argument, more objectivity, more solutions.”

The Hesse vote confirms the Greens’ growing electoral appeal. The party leader in the state, Tarek Al-Wazir, whose parents are Yemeni, said before the vote that anyone who wanted to send a message of rejection to the far-right AfD they “could do no worse than vote for a party led by someone like me.”

The Greens came second in the Bavaria election earlier this month.
…

Pope Francis has strongly condemned the attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh after celebrating the closing mass of the Synod of Bishops on Youth in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

After reciting the Angelus prayer in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, Pope Francis led prayers for Pittsburgh, the day after what he describedas the “terrible” massacre inside a synagogue during Sabbath services in which 11 people were killed and six others injured. 

The pope expressed what he called his closeness to the city of Pittsburgh, and in particular to the Jewish community stricken yesterday by a terrible attack on the synagogue.  

He said everyone is in reality wounded by this inhumane act of violence and asked God to help put out the hotbeds of hate that flare up in society and to help strengthen a sense of humanity, respect for life, moral and civil values.”

Earlier, several thousand people, including hundreds of priests, nuns, and young people took part in the final ceremony of a month-long synod titled “Young People, Faith and Discernment of Vocation”.

In his homily, Pope Francis asked young people to forgive adults if they have not listened to youth or opened their hearts.

The pope also said young people could not wash their hands of the problems of their neighbors, but should “dirty” them if they really want to imitate Jesus.

Pope Francis attended every session of the synod, which were held on a daily basis during October.

A 60-page final document was issued at the end of the synod late Saturday and will be used by Pope Francis in writing his Apostolic Exhortation.  

Women played an active role in this synod and although they did not vote the final text called on women to have greater recognition and say in the Church’s decision-making processes.  But the document stopped short of making a common apology for decades of clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups.   

 
…

The helicopter of a British soccer club owner has crashed outside a stadium moments after taking off.

Police have not confirmed if Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, owner of Leicester City of Britain’s Premier League, was on board when the aircraft went down in the parking lot near King Power Stadium after a Saturday night match.

Video footage from the scene showed balls of flames engulfing the wreckage.

“Leicestershire Police, East Midlands Ambulance Service and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service all responded to the incident last night and enquiries continue at the scene today [Sunday 28 October], led by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch [AAIB]. These enquiries are expected to continue over the coming days,” said a local police statement.

British media reports have said the 60-year-old Thai owner and a group of others had boarded the helicopter.

The Leicester City soccer club said it was assisting police with a “major incident.”

Leicester is about 143 kilometers north of London.

 
…

Pope Francis is grieving with Pittsburgh’s Jewish community following the massacre at a synagogue there, denouncing the “inhuman act of violence” and praying for an end to the “flames of hatred” that fueled it.

Francis led prayers for Pittsburgh on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, a day after a gunman who had expressed hatred of Jews opened fire in the synagogue during Sabbath services, killing 11 people.

Francis prayed for the dead, the injured and their families. He says “all of us are wounded by this inhuman act of violence.” He prayed for God “to help us to extinguish the flames of hatred that develop in our societies.”

Francis has frequently spoken out against religiously inspired violence and has denounced the easy availability of guns, calling arms manufacturers the “merchants of death.”
…

A synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh on Saturday, which left 11 people dead, is “likely the deadliest” such attack in US history, an American civil rights group said.

Here is a list of major attacks on synagogues around the world over recent years, and of attacks on other places of Jewish community life.

Tunisia

On April 11, 2002, 21 people died in a suicide attack on the Ghriba synagogue, on the island of Djerba, in the south of the country. Among the dead were 14 Germans, five Tunisians and two French citizens. A tank truck driven by a Tunisian and filled with inflammable gas blew up outside the synagogue, which is the oldest place of Jewish worship in Africa. The attack was claimed by al-Qaida.

Turkey

On Nov. 15, 2003, vehicles filled with explosives were used against two synagogues in Istanbul, Neve Shalom and Beth Israel, killing 30 and injuring 300. Five days later, the British consulate and an HSBC building came under attack. A Turkish cell of al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the four attacks, which claimed a total of 63 lives.

Israel

On Nov. 18, 2014, an attack by two Palestinians against a synagogue in western Jerusalem claimed five: three Israeli-Americans, one Israeli-Briton and a Druze policeman. The Har Nof neighborhood, where the attack took place, is considered to be a bastion of the ultra-orthodox Shas party. The attack was the first against a Jewish place of worship in Jerusalem. Both attackers were shot dead by police.

Denmark

On Feb. 14, 2015, a Danish citizen of Palestinian origin, having pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, opened fire on a cultural center in Copenhagen, which was hosting a freedom of speech conference, and killed a filmmaker.

Later that night, he also killed a 37-year-old Jewish man who was standing guard outside a synagogue where a bar mitzvah was being held.

The attacker was then killed in a shootout with police.

Not just synagogues

In addition to synagogues, many other places of Jewish community life have been attacked over the years.

In France, on March 19, 2012, a 23-year-old French-Algerian Islamist killed three children and a teacher in a Jewish school in the southwest of the country.

In the U.S., on April 13, 2014, a white supremacist known for his anti-Semitic views attacked a Jewish community center and retirement home in Kansas, killing three people, none of whom were actually Jewish.

In Belgium, on May 24, 2014, a man opened fire in the lobby of the Jewish Museum in Brussels, killing four. The alleged killer, French-Algerian Mehdi Nemmouche, was arrested in France in June of this year and extradited to Belgium for trial.

In France, on Jan. 9, 2015, four Jews were killed during a hostage-taking in a Jewish supermarket in Paris by a Jihadist.
…

Thousands of Rome residents gathered in the main square in front of city hall on Saturday to call for a new dignity for their city and to protest against what they say has been the failure of city authorities to deal with the rubbish, potholes and fallen trees. The rally was organized by a group called “Rome Says Enough.”

It was a peaceful protest with a clear message: Enough to the current state of affairs in one of the great capitals of the world. Hundreds of city residents of all ages gathered in front of the Renaissance city hall to voice their unhappiness with the public transport system, the lack of efforts in cleaning the filth off streets and buildings, and the dreadful state of the many roads and parks in the city.

The event was launched on social media by six young local women, with different jobs, who created the “Rome Says Enough” civic group. They are appealing for a capital city that must return to being livable and have a vision for the future.

Addressing the large crowd gathered on Saturday, one of the organizers said, “From this square which for us Romans, and for the whole world that watches us in shock, is the symbol of the eternal city, we have come to say ‘enough’ but also to shout ‘let’s start over.’”

Residents who turned out for the sit-in pointed the finger at the current city administration run by 5-Star-Movement Mayor Virginia Raggi. She was elected in 2016 promising a fresh start. Instead, she currently is under investigation for abuse of office and false testimony. They called for her to resign because they say Rome has never before been in such a poor state.

Miriam Klein has lived in Rome all her life. She arrived early in the morning for the protest wearing a white T-shirt sporting the “Rome Says Enough” slogan.

She explained that she lives in quite a central area of the city, Gregorio Settimo, near the Vatican, and her building looks onto a large parking area for tourist buses. It is surrounded, she added, by huge quantities of garbage and there is no proper collection. She said, “I am ashamed for the tourists that come off those buses.”

Organizers added that the ancient Roman Empire’s capital, with its iconic Colosseum and Trevi Fountain, has suffered too many years of neglect and corruption, and it is now urgent that something be done to remedy the situation. They say no other European capital is in such a poor state and tourists visit once but have no desire to come back.

 
…

Ratings agency Fitch said Friday it no longer assumed that Britain would leave the European Union in a smooth transition and said an acrimonious and disruptive “no deal” Brexit could lead to a further downgrade of its sovereign credit rating.

“In Fitch’s view, an intensification of political divisions within the UK … has increased the likelihood of an acrimonious and disruptive ‘no deal’ Brexit.

“Such an outcome would substantially disrupt customs, trade and economic activity, and has led Fitch to abandon its base case on which the ratings were previously predicated.”

Previously Fitch had assumed Britain would leave the EU in March next year with a transition deal in place and the outline of a future trade deal with the bloc.

But Prime Minister Theresa May has struggled to agree to a deal that can secure the backing of Brussels and her own lawmakers in the Conservative Party.

The ratings agency currently rates British government debt at AA with a negative outlook, which means a further lowering of the rating is possible. Fitch cut its top-notch AAA rating on Britain in 2013, citing the outlook for weaker public finances.

Ratings downgrades up to now have had little impact on investors’ appetite for British government debt, which is still seen as a safe asset at times of political or economic turmoil.

But downgrades are embarrassing for May’s Conservative government, which emphasized preserving the country’s AAA rating when it embarked on an austerity program in 2010.
…

A Turkish court on Oct. 12 freed American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who had been convicted on terror charges — charges he denies — and imprisoned for two years. Brunson, who is now back in the U.S. with his family, and his wife, Norine Brunson, spoke with Mehmet Toroglu about his time in prison and how it felt to be released.
…

Russia failed on Friday to get the U.N. General Assembly to consider calling on Washington and Moscow to preserve and strengthen an arms control treaty that helped end the Cold War and warned that if the United States quits the pact it could raise the issue in the U.N. Security Council.

President Donald Trump said on Oct. 20 that Washington planned to quit the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty which Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, and Ronald Reagan had signed in 1987. It eliminated all short- and intermediate-range land-based nuclear and conventional missiles held by both states in Europe.

Washington has cited Russia’s alleged violation of the treaty as its reason for leaving it, a charge Moscow denies.

Russia in turn accuses Washington of breaking the pact.

Russia had proposed a draft resolution in the 193-member General Assembly’s disarmament committee, but missed the Oct. 18 submission deadline. On Friday, it called for a vote on whether the committee should be allowed to consider the draft, but lost with only 31 votes in favor, 55 against and 54 abstentions.

“In a year, if the U.S. withdraws from the treaty and begins an uncontrolled buildup of weapons, nuclear-capable weapons, we will be confronting a completely different reality,” Andrei Belousov, deputy director of Russia’s Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, told the committee.

He questioned whether the United States was preparing for a war, asking: “Why is it then … do they want to leave the treaty? Why do they want to build up their nuclear capability?”

Belousov said if the United States follows through on its threat to withdraw, then Russia could raise the issue in the 15-member Security Council. However, such a move would not lead to any action as both countries have veto powers in the council.

U.S. Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood told the committee Washington had spent some five years trying to engage Moscow on the issue of compliance and that Russia had “denied having produced or tested a ground-launch cruise missile.”

“It’s only recently that they admitted to having produced a ground-launch cruise missile but then maintained that it did not violate the range limits of the treaty,” he said.

“The U.S. has been extremely patient with Russia and our hope is that Russia will do the right thing and destroy that ground-launch cruise missile,” Wood said.

European members of NATO urged the United States on Thursday to try to bring Russia back into compliance with the treaty rather than quit it, diplomats said, seeking to avoid a split in the alliance that Moscow could exploit.
…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to host French, German and Russian leaders Saturday at a four-way summit on the Syrian civil war.

The summit seeks to build on a cease-fire between Syrian rebels and government forces brokered by Moscow and Ankara.

Former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served widely in the region, says just assembling the gathering is a significant diplomatic achievement for the Turkish leader.

“To host this sort of summit with, on the one hand, Russia, Astana partner, on the other hand, the two NATO allies Germany and France, in here, in Turkey is quite a success for President Erdogan, to be honest,” Selcen said.

The Istanbul summit is a result of last month’s deal in Sochi, Russia, struck by Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin that prevented a Syrian government offensive against the northwest Idlib province.

Idlib is the last main refuge of the rebel opposition. The participation by Berlin and Paris at this round of talks is tied to the deal holding firm. It’s a commitment that analysts say Moscow appears ready to comply with, at least for now.

Moscow has said the Idlib deal is working and Ankara is complying with its side of the agreement. Under the terms of the deal, Ankara agreed to secure the withdrawal of radical groups and rebel heavy weapons from a newly created demilitarized zone between rebel and regime forces.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are expected to use the summit to work on consolidating the Idlib deal.

With about 3 million people in Idlib, analysts point out that European leaders feared any Idlib offensive could trigger another refugee exodus toward Europe. The attendance of the French and German leaders is seen as helping to strengthen Ankara’s hand in balancing Moscow, a key backer of the Syrian government.

“That it takes place in Istanbul has symbolic meaning because Germany and France will be the new actors participating in it,” said International Relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University. “So Turkey plays the balance of power policy between Russia and European countries. It’s a good tactic by Turkey to bring all these people together and talk about Syria.”

Erdogan is expected to hold a bilateral meeting on the summit sidelines with Putin. While the two leaders are backing rival sides in the Syrian civil war, they have developed deepening ties in efforts to resolve the conflict. That relationship is causing unease among Turkey’s NATO partners.

Syria’s reconstruction also is scheduled to be on the summit’s agenda. Estimated by the U.N. at upward of $250 billion, the financial means of Europe and, in particular, Berlin are likely to be vital in helping finance the cost of rebuilding.

“Everyone knows that such deep pockets do not exist, neither in Syria, nor in Russia, nor in Iran,” said former Turkish diplomat Selcen. “China might be interested but only to a certain extent. So nobody will offer Syria this money. EU is needed, so is America.”

Selcen suggests Berlin could have potential leverage over Damascus and Moscow to make concessions toward the opposition.

“It’s like, ‘if you want the money you have to redraft your constitution so that you will see a more equitable Syria,'” he added.

Little hope is being expressed, though, of any significant breakthrough at the Istanbul summit. Moscow already is downplaying expectations.

“We have already said that it would be probably incorrect to predict that the summit is held with the aim of reaching certain agreements,” Russia’s presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov said Monday. “We need to be realistic that this is not the case. But this summit is an excellent platform for comparing the notes, exchanging opinions and searching for possible areas of cooperation.”

Analysts suggest the French and German leaders’ participation at the Istanbul meeting, however, could yet mark the start of a new process offering significant impetus to finally end the Syrian civil war.
…

Poland’s ruling party wants to see concrete plans for increasing the presence of American troops on Polish soil before national elections are held next fall, said Pawel Soloch, head of the National Security Bureau.

The nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party says increasing the number of U.S. troops in the country is essential to ward off the threat it says is posed by Russia.

Securing an American base would help PiS show it is taking action to protect Poland from perceived Russian threats ahead of national elections, analysts say. PiS may then use this as an argument to win over more voters, after its narrower than expected victory in regional elections last Sunday.

“It’s clear the electoral calendar is at play. It is definitely important for us to finalize a larger American presence in the country,” Soloch told Reuters in an interview when asked about the government’s defense priorities ahead of the vote.

It remains unclear, however, whether plans for a proposed permanent American base in Poland dubbed “Fort Trump” by Warsaw will take the exact form pitched by President Andrzej Duda in his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in September.

Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak will travel to the United States on Monday and is expected to raise the issue with Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton once more.

Poland’s armed forces have suffered from decades of under-investment and some two-thirds of their equipment dates from the Soviet era.

The country has repeatedly called for a permanent U.S. military presence on its soil. The United States currently rotates troops through Poland temporarily, and permanently stationing forces there would be expensive.

As part of its mission, PiS – which has clashed on many issues with the European Union of which Poland is a member – has prioritized strong bilateral ties with the U.S. government under Trump, outside the scope of NATO.

Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, Deputy Minister of National Defense Tomasz Szatkowski and Soloch visited Brussels this week to inform NATO of their plans to expand the presence of American troops in the country.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg pressed the Polish delegation to provide concrete details about the proposals and to communicate their plans to all their allies, a NATO diplomat said.

In a meeting with Trump in September Duda said Poland was ready to invest $2 billion to facilitate the development of a permanent base.

But Soloch said only preliminary discussions have been held between the Ministry of Defense and the Pentagon.

 
…

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has described how she worked with designer Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy to create a “timeless” wedding gown for her wedding to Prince Harry earlier this year.

Harry and the former Meghan Markle recorded their memories of the wedding for an audio commentary that is part of the new “Relive the Royal Wedding” exhibition at Windsor Castle that opens Friday.

The gown is set to be the prime attraction at the 10-week display.

In the audio recording, the former actress said she worked with Keller to create a “timeless” gown with a “classic feeling.” The dress also needed to be suitably modest for the May 19 wedding held in a chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle, she said.

“There was a great level of detail that went into the planning of our wedding day,” the duchess said.

“I think for us, we knew how large the scale of the event would be, so in making choices that were really personal and meaningful, it could make the whole experience feel intimate, even though it was a very big wedding,” she said.

Meghan described the “incredibly surreal day” when she and her fiance visited Queen Elizabeth II, Harry’s grandmother, to choose a tiara for her to wear during the wedding ceremony. She picked Queen Mary’s diamond and platinum bandeau tiara from the queen’s collection. It is featured in the new exhibit.

For his part, Harry said it was “very sweet” of his grandmother to lend his bride-to-be the priceless headpiece.

Harry’s wedding outfit, including the frockcoat uniform made by master tailors on Savile Row, is also display, though likely to be overshadowed by Meghan’s gown and the tiara.
…

As they demand answers about his death, friends of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have drawn some comfort from the unlikely figure of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has overseen his own crackdown on dissent, has jailed journalists and has shuttered media outlets in his country. 

Khashoggi’s friends hope Erdogan, who has vowed that Turkey won’t let anyone get away with the “savage” killing of the journalist inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, won’t be diverted from discovering the full details of the Oct. 2 slaying. 

“It is not over yet,” the Turkish leader has promised. “We are unraveling, dismantling [the case], and the world is closely following.” 

But Erdogan’s midweek speech to the Turkish parliament on Khashoggi’s death, which he had billed just days before as the moment for the “naked truth” to come out, has left them queasy, and has prompted others to question exactly what Turkey’s president wants out of the Khashoggi affair. 

In his speech, Erdogan added no new details to what was known already. “He did not drop a bombshell and he did not reveal anything we didn’t know before,” said Gonul Tol of the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based research group, aside from hinting he had personally approved the leaks to the media. 

His officials have been drip-feeding to the media lurid information about the grisly slaying in order to “maximize pressure on the Saudis” and to force reluctant admissions from them, said Peter Ricketts, a former British diplomat. 

Riyadh first claimed Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, only to be forced to admit the dissident commentator had been killed. But it insisted the killing was a rogue operation by renegade security and intelligence officials. 

In a twist that’s adding to the unease of those who want to get to the bottom of the killing, Erdogan spoke by phone Thursday with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man many believe most likely had prior knowledge of the plan to kill Khashoggi. That view appears to be shared partially by U.S. President Donald Trump, who told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, “He’s running things and so if anybody were going to be [informed], it would be him.” 

The phone call between the two men, who have often clashed before, is prompting further questions about Erdogan’s objectives. Does he really want the “naked truth” to emerge, or will he parlay Khashoggi’s death into a geopolitical deal serving other purposes, such as leveraging the oil-rich Saudis’ money to help Turkey’s ailing economy? 

Reportedly, Erdogan reacted dismissively to an offer of financial aid and investments made by Saudi royal family member Prince Khalid bin Faisal al-Saud during his visit last week to the Turkish capital. But “there’s no evidence about a bargain that would involve a loan or investment by the Saudis in Turkey,” said academic Galip Dalay, a friend of Khashoggi. 

Balancing power, economy 

But the Saudis have traditionally made problems go away by writing checks, and large Saudi investments could help calm financial markets and restore some confidence in Turkey’s beleaguered economy, analysts said. 

Tol said Erdogan has to be careful that the Khashoggi affair doesn’t backfire on Turkey economically. “Gulf countries have played an important role in the Turkish economy,” she said. “Since 2002 when Erdogan first came into office, he has sought to decrease Turkish dependence on European investments and reached out to the Gulf countries.And the Saudis play a huge role in the Turkish economy.” 

That’s especially important for Erdogan now, she said, when Turkey is struggling and “can’t secure enough European investments.”

Above all, he must avoid pushing the case to the point of rupture with the Saudis, she said, and that may explain his careful strategy. “You have to give credit to Erdogan for the way he has played his hand very well,” she said in a podcast released Thursday by the Middle East Institute. 

Other analysts suspect Erdogan may have more than the Turkish economy in mind. 

In the Turkish capital, and among analysts in Europe and America, there’s conjecture that Erdogan’s aims are much broader than securing a single payoff and that they include major geopolitical objectives and a recalibration of the balance of power in the Gulf by dislodging the crown prince, or at the very least persuading the Saudi monarch, King Salman, to rein in his son. 

Among Erdogan’s aims, according to analysts, is a likely parlaying of the Khashoggi affair into an end to the Saudis’ economic blockade of Turkish ally Qatar and to halt the kingdom’s antipathy to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is aligned with Erdogan’s ruling AKP party. 

Western diplomats say that by pressuring the Saudi royal family with astute leaking and withholding of information, the Turkish leader is increasing his leverage. “The one thing the Saudis don’t want to happen is for the [reported] audio tape [of the killing] to be released. Then the fallout would be even harder to contain,” said a former British envoy to the Gulf kingdom. “If Erdogan steers this killing to safe port and minimizes the damage to the Saudi royal family, he will be owed a lot of favors.” 
…

Police in four countries have smashed an international drug-trafficking ring in which cocaine was smuggled aboard commercial jet flights.

Colombian police say 30 people have been arrested, including the suspected ringleader, Jorge Juan Merlo of Spain. He was arrested in the Colombian city of Cali.

Other suspects were nabbed in Australia, Spain, and the United States. Nearly 800 kilograms of cocaine, $200,000 in cash, and cars and cell phones were also seized.

Authorities say the drug ring was centered in Colombia from which cocaine was flown to other countries hidden in luggage aboard regular passenger jets.

Also Thursday, Spanish authorities say they found nearly six tons of cocaine hidden inside a shipment of bananas. Sixteen people were arrested.

Police also confiscated cash, guns and luxury cars in a raid in the southern port of Malaga.

Spain says Dutch criminals were behind the ring in which cocaine from South America was smuggled aboard ships to Portugal, then trucked to Spain and the Netherlands.
…

Russian State Duma lawmakers on Tuesday passed new legislation that would expand the federal government’s ability to ban foreign nongovernmental organizations accused of meddling in Russian elections. 

The legislation builds on a series of Russian laws that in 2012 began targeting “undesirable” activities, mainly by foreign advocacy groups, nonprofit organizations and news media outlets. The “undesirable” designation bans them from operating inside Russia, with any violation punishable by fines and jail time. 

In 2017, Russia warned nine U.S. government-funded news operations — including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and seven separate regional outlets — that they would probably be designated “foreign agents” under legislation drafted in retaliation against a U.S. demand that Kremlin-supported television station RT register as such in the United States.  

Under Russian law, being declared a foreign agent requires designees to regularly disclose their objectives, full details of finances, funding sources and staffing. 

According to Riga-based online news portal Meduza, Tuesday’s expanded legislation, authored by deputies of all legislative parties, defines election meddling as any activities that “create obstacles to nominating or electing candidates or voting in referenda.” 

“Russian citizens who continue working for these banned groups risk criminal penalties,” Meduza reported. “Currently, Russia has designated 15 undesirable organizations, including the National Endowment for Democracy, the Open Society Foundation, the Open Russia Civic Movement and the German Marshall Fund.” 

Stephen Nix, Eurasia director for the Washington-headquartered International Republican Institute, said the latest legislation further restricted civil society space and open dialogue in Russia. 

“IRI closed our office in Moscow a few years prior to receiving the ‘undesirable’ designation in 2016, so it did not directly affect our work, since we had already left the country,” Nix told VOA’s Russian service in a prepared statement Wednesday.  

“In recent years, the Kremlin’s practice of issuing these designations has severely undermined the already limited civil society space in Russia,” he added. “This most recent bill is a clear attempt to deflect attention away from the Kremlin’s brazen and malignant interference in elections abroad as part of its campaign to undermine democracies around the world. Now more than ever, it is crucial that democracies speak out against these practices, the chief victims of which are the Russian people.” 

This story originated in VOA’s Russian service.  
…

The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to ban single-use plastic products such as straws, eating utensils and coffee sticks across the European Union.

The measure passed 571 to 53, with 34 abstentions.

If approved by the European Commission — the EU executive — and individual states, the ban would become law in 2021.

Supporters say plastics are a major source of pollution that chokes oceans, litters cities, and can take decades to disintegrate.

Some U.S. cities have moved to ban plastic straws in restaurants after a heartbreaking video of a wildlife rescuer pulling a straw out of a turtle’s bloody nose was posted on the internet earlier this year.

A consortium of European plastics manufacturers called the EU bill “disproportionate” and said banning single-use plastics discourages investment into new ways to recycle.

The EU plastics bill also includes deadlines for reducing or recycling other plastics such as bottles, fishing lines, food wrappers, and cigarette filters.

 
…

Russian President Vladimir Putin is warning of a new arms race if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through with his threat to pull out of a key arms control agreement. 

After talks in Moscow with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Putin said Russia would respond “in kind” if the U.S. deployed intermediate-range missiles in Europe. 

“If they will deliver them to Europe, naturally our response will have to mirror this,” Putin said, adding that the Russian response would be “very quick and effective.” 

He also cautioned that European countries agreeing to host U.S. missiles would put themselves at risk of a Russian attack. 

Meeting in November?

But Putin said he wanted to discuss the issue with Trump if the two meet in Paris next month. Both will be attending ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. 

“I don’t understand why we should put Europe in such a grave danger. I see no reason for that. … We are ready to work with our American partners without any hysterics,” Putin said. 

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday blamed Russia for violating the arms control treaty Trump wants to abandon. But he said he did not foresee a nuclear arms buildup in Europe. 

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. It bans the United States and Russia from building, testing and stockpiling ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range of 500 to 5,000 kilometers (310 to 3,100 miles). 

Trump has accused Russia of violating the treaty by deploying land-based cruise missiles that pose a threat to NATO. 

Russia denies violating the INF pact and says it is U.S. missile defense systems in Europe and other unprovoked steps that are in violation. 

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, who met with Putin on Tuesday in Moscow, called Russian violations of the treaty “long and deep.” 

“The threat is not America’s INF withdrawal. … The threat is Russian missiles already deployed,” Bolton said.  “The American position is that Russia is in violation. Russia’s position is that they are not in violation. So, one has to ask how to ask the Russians to come back into compliance with something that they don’t think they are violating.” 

But Bolton has implied that the INF deal with Russia might have run its course. He believes bilateral Cold War treaties may not apply to the current global security environment when other nations, including China, Iran and North Korea, have also developed missiles.
…

Smugglers and other organized criminals are likely to exploit gaps in border enforcement if Britain leaves the European Union without an agreement, a watchdog warned Wednesday, amid a growing chorus of warnings about the disruptive impact of a “no-deal” Brexit.

Britain is due to leave the EU on March 29, but London and Brussels have not reached an agreement on divorce terms and a smooth transition to a new relationship. The stalemate has heightened fears that the U.K. might leave without a deal in place, leading to chaos at ports and economic turmoil.

The National Audit Office said in a report that political uncertainty and delays in negotiations with the EU have hampered preparations for new border arrangements, and the government is now racing to bolster computer systems, increase staffing and build new infrastructure to track goods.

The office said that 11 of 12 major projects may not be delivered on time or at “acceptable quality,” with those who rely on the border “paying the price.” It added that “organized criminals and others are likely to be quick to exploit any perceived weaknesses or gaps in the enforcement regime.”

“This, combined with the U.K.’s potential loss of access to EU security, law enforcement and criminal justice tools, could create security weaknesses which the government would need to address urgently,” the office’s report said.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that Transport Secretary Chris Grayling had raised at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday the idea of chartering ships to bring in food and medicines through alternative ports if new customs checks led to gridlock on the main shipping route between Dover in England and Calais in France.

“We remain confident of reaching an agreement with the EU, but it is only sensible for government and industry to prepare for a range of scenarios,” the Department for Transport said in a statement.

Prime Minister Theresa May said this week that a divorce deal is “95 percent” done, but the two sides still have a “considerable” gap over the issue of the border between the U.K.’s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. Britain and the EU agree there must be no barriers that could disrupt businesses and residents on both sides of the border and undermine Northern Ireland’s hard-won peace process. But so far, each side has rejected the other’s solution.

May has attempted to break the impasse by suggesting that a post-Brexit transition period, currently due to end in December 2020, could be extended to give more time for new trade and customs arrangements to be put in place that would eliminate the need for border checks.

EU has said it is open to the proposal, but the idea has infuriated May’s political opponents on both sides of Britain’s Brexit divide.

Pro-Brexit politicians see it as an attempt to bind the country to the bloc indefinitely, while pro-EU politicians say it is a sign of May’s weak bargaining hand and an attempt to stall for time.

On Wednesday, May will try to stem a growing revolt within her Conservative Party over her Brexit blueprint. She’ll address the 1922 Committee, a grouping of backbench Conservative legislators with a key role in deciding who leads the party.

Under Conservative rules, a vote of no-confidence in the leader is triggered if 15 percent of party lawmakers write to the 1922 Committee requesting one. The required number currently stands at 48; only committee chief Graham Brady knows how many have been submitted.

 
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