The U.S. continued to press Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to release detained American Pastor Andrew Brunson, after a Turkish court Wednesday rejected a second legal appeal to release him from house arrest. And Turkey is pushing back hard, sharply raising tariffs on a range of American goods in retaliation to the tariffs imposed last week by President Trump. VOA’s Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department on deteriorating relations with a U.S. NATO ally.
…

Two U.S. F-22 stealth fighter jets squared off in simulated dogfights with two of Norway’s expanding fleet of F-35 aircraft Wednesday as part of an exercise aimed at strengthening the NATO alliance and increasing its deterrent power.

The two U.S. F-22s are among 13 in Europe for a series of short-term deployments in places such as Greece and Poland, with further training missions planned in undisclosed locations in coming days.

The Norwegian deployment lasted one day but will lay the groundwork for NATO allies as they work to integrate their stealth warfare capabilities, Colonel Leslie Hauck, chief of the fifth generation integration division at the U.S. Air Force’s headquarters in Europe, told reporters in Norway.

The deployment is part of U.S. efforts to reassure European allies after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea.

F-35s arriving in Europe

Growing numbers of Lockheed Martin Corp F-35s are arriving in Europe as the world’s most advanced warplane and most expensive weapons program matures following a raft of cost increases and technical challenges in its early years.

“Every training opportunity that we have betters our readiness for any potential adversary of the future,” Hauck said at the Orland air base, home to six of Norway’s expected 52 F-35s.

Hauck leads a new office at Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany, that is working to ensure a smooth transition for about 40 F-35s scheduled to be in Europe by year’s end. The first of which are set to arrive in 2021.

Next month, a group of senior officials from the United States and seven other F-35 operator countries — Norway, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, Israel, Britain and the Netherlands — will meet to compare notes on the new warplane, which was first used in combat by Israel in May.

Better battlefield overview

The United States has more than 150 of the aircraft, whose sensors pilots say give them the most extensive overview of a battlefield of any combat jet available.

Norwegian Air Force Major Morten Hanche, who piloted one of the Norwegian F-35s, said the mock fight with the F-22s was great practice, especially since the F-35s generally surprise and overpower other nonstealth aircraft.

He declined to name the winning aircraft, saying only: “The F-22 is a very formidable opponent.”
…

The United States said Wednesday that Bosnia’s autonomous Serb-dominated region was attempting to deny history by revoking a report that concluded that Bosnian Serb forces killed about 8,000 Muslims in and around Srebrenica during the country’s 1992-95 war.

The U.S. State Department said adoption by the Republika Srpska (Serb Republic) government of the 2004 report on the Srebrenica genocide had been an important reconciliation step.

Reconciliation step reversed

“The August 14 session of the Republika Srpska National Assembly is a step in the wrong direction,” a State Department statement said.

“Attempts to reject or amend the report on Srebrenica are part of wider efforts to revise the facts of the past war, to deny history, and to politicize tragedy. It is in the interest of the citizens of Republika Srpska to reverse the trend of revering convicted war criminals as heroes, and to ensure their crimes continue to be publicly rejected.”

A vote Tuesday by lawmakers in Bosnia’s Serb Republic to revoke the 2004 report was initiated by the region’s nationalist President Milorad Dodik, and some analysts say it is the latest issue used by Serb ruling parties to mobilize voters around the nationalist agenda ahead of elections in October.

Dodik, an advocate of the Serb region’s secession from Bosnia, has always rejected rulings by two war crimes courts, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and The International Court of Justice, that the Srebrenica atrocity qualified as genocide.

Official says scope overblown

Though acknowledging a crime occurred, Dodik says the numbers of those killed had been exaggerated in the 2004 report and it should have included Serb victims.

The parliament concluded that a new independent international commission should be formed to determine the damages suffered by all peoples in the Srebrenica region.
…

The White House on Wednesday condemned Turkey for boosting tariffs on U.S. imports, the latest confrontation between the two NATO allies.

Ankara imposed stiffer levies on U.S. cars, alcohol, coal and other products — $533 million in new tariffs — in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s imposition of doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum exported to the United States.

The tit-for-tat tariffs came amid Turkey’s rejection of a U.S. demand that it release American pastor Andrew Brunson, detained on espionage and terrorism-related charges.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said “the tariffs from Turkey are certainly regrettable and a step in the wrong direction. The tariffs that the United States placed on Turkey were out of national security interest. Theirs are out of retaliation.”

Sanders said even if Brunson is released, U.S. tariffs on steel would remain.

She said Turkey had treated Brunson “who we know to be a very good person and a strong Christian who has done nothing wrong, very unfairly, very badly, and it’s something that we won’t forget.”

With the dispute between the U.S. and Turkey seeming to escalate by the day, the value of Turkey’s lira currency against the dollar has plummeted, but Sanders rejected any blame on the U.S.’s part.

She said the U.S. was “monitoring the situation.” But she added that Turkey’s economic problems “are a part of a long-term trend, something of its own making and not the result of any actions the United States has taken.”

The new Turkish tariffs came a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would boycott U.S. electronic goods, singling out Apple’s iPhones. Erdogan has blamed the U.S. for the fall of the lira, but refused to budge on Trump’s demand for Brunson’s release.

Meanwhile, Qatar said it would make a $15 billion investment in Turkey to help the country’s ailing economy.

The investment, which will be directed to Turkey’s banks and financial markets, was announced after Qatar’s Sheikh Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani held talks in Ankara with Erdogan.

Erdogan’s economic role

Turkey’s lira has plummeted nearly 40 percent this year due to concerns over Erdogan’s growing influence on the economy. The lira has recovered somewhat from recent lows as the government cut the daily limit in the exchange of currencies with foreign countries.

Turkey and Qatar historically have been good diplomatic partners. Turkey supported Qatar after Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries cut diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar last year. The Arab states accused Qatar of financing terrorism, a charge Qatar denies.
…

Turkey on Wednesday announced tariff hikes on a range of U.S. goods in the latest back-and-forth move amid a deteriorating relationship between the two countries.

The extra tariffs apply to imports of vehicles, alcohol, coal, rice and cosmetics.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Twitter the increases were being done “within the framework of the principle of reciprocity in retaliation for the conscious economic attacks by the United States.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accusing the United States of waging a targeted economic war on his country, and on Tuesday he proposed a boycott of U.S. electronic goods.

“If they have the iPhone, there is Samsung elsewhere. In our own country we have Vestel,” said Erdogan.

Asked how U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration would react to any such Turkish boycott, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders replied during Tuesday afternoon’s briefing, “I certainly don’t have a policy announcement on that at this point.” 

Trump administration sources say further sanctions against Turkey are under active consideration. But Sanders declined to say how the U.S. government plans to apply more pressure on Ankara, which repeatedly has ignored calls from Trump and others to free Christian pastor Andrew Brunson. 

Turkey accuses Brunson of espionage and is holding him under house arrest pending his trial. 

The chargé d’affaires at the U.S. embassy in Turkey, Jeffrey Hovenier, visited Brunson on Tuesday and called for his case — and those of others detained in Turkey — to be resolved “without delay” and in a “fair and transparent manner.”

National Security Adviser John Bolton met at the White House on Monday with Turkish ambassador Serdar Kilic, but the discussion reportedly did not result in any substantive progress.

Trump, who has called Brunson’s detention a “total disgrace,” last Friday doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum exports in order to increase pressure on Erdogan. 

Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Turkey’s ministers of Justice and Interior in response to the continued detention of the pastor, who has lived in the country for 20 years and heads an evangelical congregation of about two dozen people in the port city of Izmir. 

The escalating dispute between the two countries has exacerbated Turkey’s economic crisis, pushing the lira to record lows. The Turkish currency has lost about 40 percent of its value this year against the U.S. dollar.

Erdogan has called on Turks to exchange their dollars for lira in order to shore up the domestic currency.

In a joint statement Tuesday, Turkish business groups called on the government to institute tighter monetary policy in order to combat the currency crisis. They also said Turkey should work to resolve the situation with the United States diplomatically while also improving relations with another major trading partner, the European Union.

The Turkish central bank has pledged to take “all necessary measures” to stabilize the country’s economy to make sure the banks have all the money they need. But world stock traders were dismayed the bank did not raise interest rates, which is what many economists believe is necessary to ease the crisis.

The United States and Turkey also have diverging interests over Syria, which is enmeshed in a protracted civil war. 

The differences are drawing Turkey closer to Russia, they key adversary of NATO but a country supplying more than half of Turkey’s gas.

Turkey has agreed to buy S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia, an unprecedented move by a NATO member, which has raised objections from members of both parties of the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration. 

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, voiced support for Turkey during a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Tuesday, stating both countries plan to switch from dollars to national currencies for their mutual trade.

“We view the policy of sanctions as unlawful and illegitimate, driven mostly by a desire to dominate everywhere and in everything, dictate policies and call shots in international affairs,” said Lavrov, predicting “such a policy can’t be a basis for normal dialogue and can’t last long.

Lavrov, alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, also declared, “We are at a turning point, without exaggeration, in world history” from dominance by a single power toward a multipolar environment. 
…

Two Greek soldiers facing espionage charges in Turkey are due to fly home early on Wednesday after a provincial court released them, in a ruling Athens said would help to improve strained ties between the two NATO allies.

The soldiers crossed into Turkey in March, in what Greece said was an accident while they were following the trail of suspected illegal migrants.

But a court in the western province of Edirne ordered their detention the same month on suspicion of attempted military espionage.

The same court ruled for their release on Tuesday after they said in a defense statement they had crossed the border by mistake, state news agency Anadolu said. 

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras welcomed the ruling.

“The release of the two Greek officers is an act of justice which will contribute to friendship, good neighbourly relations and stability in the region,” his office said in a statement.

The conditions of their release were not immediately clear, though Greece said it was sending an aircraft to pick them up.

The prime minister’s office said his plane would fly them back to Thessaloniki, where they would be received early on Wednesday by the defense minister.

Long-time regional rivals Turkey and Greece have been at odds over a host of issues from ethnically divided Cyprus to rights in the Aegean Sea.

Rhetoric has recently been ratcheted up on both sides, particularly after the collapse of peace talks in Cyprus in July 2017.

But following a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a NATO summit in July, Tsipras said they had agreed to focus efforts on easing tensions in the Aegean.

Turkey has also called on Greece to return eight Turkish commandos who have sought asylum there after commandeering a helicopter to flee Turkey as a coup against Erdogan crumbled in July 2016. Turkey says they were involved, and has demanded they be returned to face trial.

In Brussels, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he was delighted by news of the Greek soldiers’ imminent release.

“As I said (before) … Turkey has nothing to fear from its European neighbors. We want to see a democratic, stable and prosperous Turkey,” he posted on his Twitter feed.
…

A bridge over an industrial area in the Italian city of Genova partially collapsed during a sudden and violent storm on Tuesday, leaving vehicles crushed in the rubble below.

Italian media reported that there were deaths, but Maria Luisa Catalano, a police official in Genoa, said that authorities were still involved in rescue efforts and did not yet know the number of victims or injured.

The disaster occurred on a highway that connects Italy to France and other vacation resorts on the eve of a major Italian holiday on Wednesday, Ferragosto, and traffic would have been heavier than usual as many Italians traveled to beaches or mountains.

The transport minister, Danilo Toninelli, called the collapse “an enormous tragedy.”

The private broadcaster Sky TG24 said that a 200-meter section of the Morandi Bridge collapsed over an industrial zone. Firefighters told The Associated Press that there are concerns about gas lines.

Photos published by the ANSA news agency on its website showed a huge gulf between two sections of the bridge.

Video captured the sound of a man screaming: “Oh god, oh, god.” Other images showed a green truck that had stopped just meters (yards) short of the gaping hole in the bridge.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said some 200 firefighters were responding to the accident.

“We are following minute by minute the situation for the bridge collapse in Genoa,” Salvini said on Twitter.

The Morandi Bridge was inaugurated in 1967. It is 90 meters (yards) high, just over a kilometer (about three-quarters of a mile) long, with the longest section between supports measuring 200 meters (yards).

The bridge is a main thoroughfare connecting the A10 highway that goes toward France and the A7 highway that continues north toward Milan.

ANSA said that authorities suspected that a structural weakness caused the collapse on Tuesday.
…

Police in London say a man crashed a car into a group of pedestrians and cyclists before hitting a set of barriers outside of Britain’s Houses of Parliament on Tuesday, causing a number of injuries.

Authorities said officers arrested the male driver of the car on suspicion of terrorist offenses. They said there were no other people in the car, and that they did not find any weapons. They put his age as being in his late 20s.

“It certainly appears to be a deliberate act, but what the motivation is we can’t say,” London Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu told reporters.

Basu said the suspect is not cooperating with police as they try to establish both the man’s identity and motive.

He said that based on what investigators know so far, the suspect does not appear to be someone who was previously known to British counterterror or intelligence agencies.

President Donald Trump reacted to the incident on Twitter, saying “Another terrorist attack in London…These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!”

The London Ambulance Service said it treated and transported two people to a hospital, and that neither had injuries that were life-threatening. Basu later said one of the people was being treated for serious injuries, while the second had been released from the hospital. A third person was treated at the crash site.

The area around the crash was closed off, as was a subway station close to the parliament grounds. Parliament is not currently in session.

Last year, a man drove a car into pedestrians on nearby Westminster Bridge, killing four people there before stabbing to death a police officer outside parliament. Police shot that attacker dead.
…

The Turkish lira has fallen more than 40 percent since the start of the year, 20 percent just last week, amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Turkey, and international investors’ concerns over the economy.  For Turkey, the dramatic collapse of the currency signal fears for the future, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

Fruit and vegetable sellers, along with fishmongers, try to drum up business in Istanbul’s old Kadikoy market.  But trade is slow. Most people just look and walk on.

Organic shopkeeper Meltem worries for the future.

She says she is pessimistic about the future because prices will rise and the ability of people to purchase will decrease. She adds that as money in their pockets decreases, people in hardship will buy much less than before.

The fear of plummeting currency values, which continued on markets Monday, will stoke Turkey’s already double-digit inflation, which appears to be the top concern among shoppers.  Turkey relies heavily on imports, especially for energy.

Thirty-year-old Tariq, a teacher doing his weekly shopping, says he is cutting back on spending as he prepares for difficult times ahead.

He says the lira has fallen heavily and predicts unbelievable inflation because Turkey imports so much.  He says everybody in Turkey is afraid the coming inflation, especially for heating bills, will make this winter hard.

Across the street, fishmonger Huseyin proudly displays what he claims is the finest turbot in Istanbul and tries to be more positive. He acknowledges there will be problems. 

He says he does not have much to do with dollars, because if more fish are caught, they are cheaper, if less they are more expensive. But he says buyers may be affected if they are having economic difficulties.  He says if there is a good quantity of fish, then he will keep selling.

Shopkeeper Meltem warns of economic uncertainty ahead.

She says the future does not look good, because when people are hungry, they will be tempted to steal and may choose illegal means to survive.  She said things will not be any good. Many stores are closing because there is no trade anymore.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday an international conspiracy is responsible for undermining the currency, but says the financial fundamentals of the economy remain strong, and order will soon return to the markets.  

Such claims have been met with skepticism by international investors, while many economists warn the damage may have already been done to the economy, and difficult times lie ahead. 
…

Turkey’s central bank failed to halt the slide of the country’s lira currency on Monday as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States of purposely trying to damage his country’s economy.

“We are together in NATO and then you seek to stab your strategic partner in the back. Can such a thing be accepted?” Erdogan said in the capital, Ankara.

The Turkish lira has plunged 40 percent this year, dropping 16 percent Friday and tumbling another seven percent Monday, trading at 6.9 to the dollar, up slightly from its low point.

The Turkish central bank said it would take “all necessary measures” to stabilize the country’s economy to make sure the banks have all the money they need. But world stock traders were dismayed the bank did not raise interest rates, which is what many economists believe is necessary to ease the crisis.

U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum exports last Friday, in part a response to Turkey refusing to release American pastor Andrew Brunson, whom Turkey accuses of espionage.

Brunson has been detained under house arrest pending his trial. Trump has called the preacher’s detention a “total disgrace.”

Erdogan said Turkey is facing an “economic siege,” calling the decline of the lira an “attack against our country.” Yet he remained optimistic, saying “it is not at all like we sank and we are finished .The dynamics of the Turkish economy are solid, strong and sound and will continue to be so.”

On Sunday, speaking to political supporters Erdogan said “the aim of the operation is to make Turkey surrender in all areas, from finance to politics. We are once again facing a political, underhand[ed] plot. With God’s permission we will overcome this.”

“What is the reason for all this storm in a tea cup?” he said.”There is no economic reason for this … This is called carrying out an operation against Turkey.”

Erdogan renewed his call for Turks to sell dollars and buy lira to boost the currency, while telling business owners to not stockpile the American currency.

“I am specifically addressing our manufacturers: Do not rush to the banks to buy dollars,” he said. “Do not take a stance saying, ‘We are bankrupt, we are done, we should guarantee ourselves.’ If you do that, that would be wrong. You should know that to keep this nation standing is … also the manufacturers’ duty.”

Erdogan signaled he was not looking to offer concessions to the United States or financial markets.

“We will give our answer, by shifting to new markets, new partnerships and new alliances,” he said.

Erdogan has in recent years built closer ties with countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. “Some close the doors and some others open new ones,” he said.

He indicated Turkey’s relationship with Washington was imperiled.

“We can only say ‘goodbye’ to anyone who sacrifices its strategic partnership and a half-century alliance with a country of 81 million for the sake of relations with terror groups,” he said.”You dare to sacrifice 81-million Turks for a priest who is linked to terror groups?”

If convicted, Brunson, the pastor, faces a prison term of 35 years.
…

Italy’s transport minister says Britain should take in 141 migrants picked up by a rescue ship that sails under the flag of the British territory of Gibraltar.

Italy continues to refuse port to ships run by humanitarian groups, and Danilo Toninelli said Monday on Twitter that Britain should take responsibility for the migrants aboard the Aquarius, operated by French humanitarian groups.

Toninelli said the rescue was coordinated by the Libyan coast guard and that the ship was now in Maltese waters.

The French aid groups SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders have called on European nations to identify a close port of safety so the 141 migrants picked up in two rescues Friday could disembark. Most of the migrants are from Somalia and Eritrea and include 67 unaccompanied minors.
…

Greek authorities have ordered the evacuation of two villages and a monastery on the island of Evia near Athens after a large fire broke out in a dry pine forest on Sunday.

Agriculture minister Vangelis Apostolou, who is on the scene, told reporters that fire crews are bracing for an all-night struggle.

“Forces from the entire region have been transferred here,” Apostolou said.

Traffic on the main road that runs the length of the 180-kilometer island has been stopped and travellers are being asked to take ferries rather than drive near the blaze.

Greece is still mourning the 94 people killed in a wildfire near the coastal resort of Mati near Athens on July 23. More than 30 people are still hospitalized, several in critical condition.

The country’s worst fire calamity prompted the ouster of the heads of police and fire brigades, in addition to the minister responsible for state security.

 
…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, embroiled in a bitter dispute with the U.S., a NATO ally, contended Sunday the plunging value of his country’s lira currency amounted to a “political plot” against Turkey.

Erdogan, speaking to political supporters in the Black Sea resort of Trabzon, said, “The aim of the operation is to make Turkey surrender in all areas, from finance to politics. We are once again facing a political, underhand plot. With God’s permission we will overcome this.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has feuded with Erdogan over several issues, including the detention of an American pastor in Turkey, whom Turkey has held since 2016 and accused of espionage. Turkey last month released the evangelical preacher from a prison, but is still detaining him under house arrest pending his trial, despite the demands of the U.S.

With the dispute intensifying, Trump on Friday doubled steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey, sending the beleaguered lira plunging 16 percent, part of a 40 percent plummet for the currency this year. In early Asian trading Monday, the lira fell to a record low of 7.06 against the dollar.

“What is the reason for all this storm in a tea cup?” Erdogan said. “There is no economic reason for this … This is called carrying out an operation against Turkey.”

Erdogan renewed his call for Turks to sell dollars and buy lira to boost the currency, while telling business owners to not stockpile the American currency.

“I am specifically addressing our manufacturers: Do not rush to the banks to buy dollars,” he said. “Do not take a stance saying, ‘We are bankrupt, we are done, we should guarantee ourselves.’ If you do that, that would be wrong. You should know that to keep this nation standing is … also the manufacturers’ duty.”

Erdogan signaled he was not looking to offer concessions to the United States, or financial markets.

“We will give our answer, by shifting to new markets, new partnerships and new alliances,” said Erdogan, who in recent years has built closer ties with countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. “Some close the doors and some others open new ones.”

He indicated Turkey’s relationship with Washington was imperiled.

“We can only say ‘good-bye’ to anyone who sacrifices its strategic partnership and a half century alliance with a country of 81 million for the sake of relations with terror groups,” he said. “You dare to sacrifice 81-million Turkey for a priest who is linked to terror groups?”

American pastor Andrew Brunson, if convicted, faces a jail term of 35 years. Trump has described his detention as a “total disgrace” and urged Erdogan to free him immediately.
…

A European rescue group says migrants stranded in the Mediterranean told it five ships passed them by and refused to help until one of the group’s ships finally picked them up Friday.

“It seems the very principle of rendering assistance to persons in distress at sea is now at stake,” Aloys Vimard of the group SOS Mediterranee said Sunday. “Policies designed to prevent people from reaching Europe at all costs are resulting in more suffering and even riskier journeys to safety for people who are already highly vulnerable.”

Vimard said ships may be leaving migrants at sea because they are afraid of being denied permission to dock in places of safety.

SOS Mediterranee, working with Doctors Without Borders, picked up 141 migrants Friday stuck in rickety wooden boats off the Libyan coast.

It says most came from Somalia and Eritrea and had been held in inhumane conditions in Libya before taking off. Many were suffering from malnutrition.

Libya said it was refusing to let the group’s ship, the Aquarius, dock. As of late Sunday, the Aquarius was still at sea, trying to find a place for the migrants.

SOS Mediterranee is urging European governments to heed international maritime law and allow ships to head to closest point of safety so migrants picked up at sea can get help.

It says all governments must recognize “the gravity of the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean.”

Thousands of people from sub-Saharan Africa and countries such as Syria and Afghanistan try crossing the Mediterranean every year to escape war, terrorism, and poverty for a better life in the European Union.
…

Talk about going green. One British soccer team has made it its goal to become the first professional sports team in the world to be certified carbon neutral. It’s an official designation recently awarded to the team by the Secretary in charge of Climate Change at the United Nations. But that’s not all. The team may also be the world’s first 100 percent vegan football club. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo has more.
…

There’s an abundance of seahorses in a remote gulf off the coast of northeastern Greece … and scientists are not exactly sure why. Although seahorses exist in Greece’s seas, scientists say it’s unusual to find a stable and continued presence for a protected species ravaged by overfishing throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Local divers are enthralled by the elegant creatures and are going to great lengths to document their presence and advocate for their protection. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.
…

Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting that China’s state-owned petroleum corporation has taken a majority share of the country’s South Pars gas project after French oil and gas company Total announced it would pull out because renewed U.S. economic sanctions against Iran.

The Saturday report quotes Mohammad Mostafavi, an official in Iran’s state oil company, as saying CNPC now owns 80 percent of the shares in the $5 billion project, having bought shares from Total.

CNPC originally had about 30 percent of shares in the project.

The renewal of U.S. sanctions took effect on Tuesday.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke Friday with French President Emmanuel Macron about trade, Iran and the Middle East, the White House said.

Trump, who is vacationing at his New Jersey golf club, said on Twitter that he had discussed “various subjects” with Macron in a “very good” phone call.

The two leaders discussed “a broad range of trade and security issues, including the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East,” the White House said in a statement.

The Elysee Palace said in a brief statement the two leaders discussed Syria, Iran and the Israel-Palestinian conflict, but did not mention trade.

Trump and Macron last met at a NATO summit in Brussels in July, where the U.S. president chastised members of the alliance that have not met its military spending targets.

At the summit, Macron said France would meet the NATO goal of spending 2.0 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Trump caused an

uproar when he pressed alliance members to reach the target by January.

On trade, the United States and the European Union are embroiled in a spat after Trump imposed tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel from France and other countries. The EU responded with retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods.

Trump had also threatened to impose tariffs on EU auto imports but reached an agreement to hold off on taking action after meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House last month.

Macron and Trump are at odds over the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Tehran. Trump tweeted this week that companies doing business in Iran would be barred from doing business in the United States.

Among large European companies that have suspended plans to invest in Iran after the U.S. action are France’s oil major Total and its big carmakers PSA and Renault.

In the Middle East, France opposed Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
…

The campaign strategist for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s 2014 election bid says Paul Manafort’s offer to guide the nascent political campaign was rejected because it would have further divided Ukrainians in the wake of deadly clashes of the Maidan revolution that ousted pro-Kremlin leader Viktor Yanukovich, Manafort’s former boss.

Questions about Manafort’s role in the current Ukrainian president’s election surfaced during questioning at Manafort’s trial, which is under way in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.

Manafort, who briefly chaired President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, is facing charges of violating tax laws and laundering money that stem from his work in Ukraine under Yanukovych.

Manafort’s former business partner and deputy in Ukraine, Rick Gates, who also worked for Trump, recently testified that Manafort was assisting Poroshenko shortly after Yanukovych was ousted in the populist revolution.

On Wednesday, Poroshenko’s former campaign spokeswoman Darya Khudyakova denied any relationship with Manafort, saying, “We had a meeting, yes, but no relationship” with Manafort’s firm.

Ukrainian legislator Ihor Hryniv, who served as Poroshenko’s 2014 campaign strategist, said Manafort initiated the meeting with Poroshenko’s team immediately after payments from the ousted Yanukovych regime stopped. 

“I did not know him prior to the meeting and did not try to get such a meeting,” Hryniv told VOA’s Ukrainian service on Friday.

“Manafort offered his services in early March,” Hryniv added. “I believe he wanted to stay in Ukraine and work here. He understood that Poroshenko was the winning candidate, which was almost clear at this point, so he bet on the favorite. It is very easy to help when your candidate’s rating is 55 percent, not 4 percent.”

That strategy that Manafort offered Poroshenko’s team, Hryniv said, would have further divided a country still recovering from a bloody mass uprising that toppled the Russia-backed regime and brought a pro-Western government to power. 

“In brief, Manafort’s strategy was [for Poroshenko] to position himself as the candidate from the west and try to push his competitor out further to the east, and then gain the momentum and use the votes of western Ukraine to win,” Hryniv said.

“Our strategy of choice, to the contrary, was to promote unification of Ukraine,” he added. “To pull it together and ensure that the candidate had support of the whole country. This was the winning strategy for the first round.”

Hryniv refuted the earlier allegations that Manafort could have worked for the campaign without pay, as Gates’ testimony implied.

“I would like to see Manafort working free of charge,” Hryniv said.

To this day, eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea remain occupied by Russian-backed forces, and citizens are still battling the corruption that the Euromaidan demonstrations sought to purge.

This story originated in VOA’s Ukrainian service.  Oksana Lihostova and Myroslava Gongadze contributed reporting from Washington.
…

A U.S. federal grand jury has indicted a U.S. citizen for attempting to join the Islamic State group.

The grand jury in Chicago charged Faress Shraiteh with conspiracy to provide material support to the Islamic State and other crimes.

Shraiteh is a U.S. citizen who used to live in Chicago and now lives in Israel.

According to the indictment, Shraiteh and two other people began trying to join the Islamic State in 2014 and traveled to Egypt the following year. The three then traveled to Turkey, but Shraiteh was not allowed to enter the country and instead flew to Israel, where he has family.

The indictment says one of Shraiteh’s traveling companions later died carrying out a suicide attack on behalf of Islamic State militants. It said Shraiteh was trying to renew his passport so he could continue his plans to join Islamic State.

Prosecutors allege that Shraiteh knew IS was a terrorist organization when he conspired to join it.

Shraiteh could face decades in prison if found guilty of the charges against him.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump further escalated tensions with Turkey Friday by announcing a sharp increase in tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in an early morning post on Twitter.

In announcing 20 percent tariffs on aluminum and 50 percent tariffs on steel, Trump said “the Turkish Lira, slides rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!”

Trump’s announcement came two days after a Turkish diplomatic delegation visited Washington in a bid to to ease tensions between the two countries.

Analysts have warned that rising U.S.-Turkish tensions are threatening a financial crisis in Turkey.

On Monday, the Turkish lira suffered its most significant drop in a decade following reports the Trump administration was considering ending Turkey’s duty-free access to the U.S. market. Trump’s Friday tweet caused a further drop in the Turkish currency.

U.S.-Turkish tensions began to escalate last week, with Trump targeting two Turkish ministers with sanctions over the detention of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson. Brunson is currently under house arrest in Turkey while standing trial on terrorism charges.

The White House dismisses the charges as baseless and accused Ankara of hostage taking.

Saying Friday Turkey faced “an economic war,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged citizens to support the lira by exchanging foreign money for the local currency.

“If you have dollars, euros or gold under your pillow, go to banks to exchange them for Turkish lira,” he said on national television. “It is a national fight.”

Erdogan called on Turks to not be concerned about exchange rate movements, mockingly declaring “the dollar, the mollar will not cut our path.”

Erdogan added that Turkey was not afraid of “threats” and said it had many alternative sources of economic cooperation “from Iran, to Russia, to China, and some European countries.”
…

The Russian ruble fell to its lowest level against the dollar in almost two years after the U.S. imposed new sanctions on Moscow Wednesday over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain. Russia has denied a role using novichok, and Moscow on Thursday called the measure illegal under international law and announced retaliatory measures of its own. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports that Russians have reacted stoically to the additional sanctions.
…

Russia has denounced a new round of U.S. sanctions over its alleged chemical weapons use, and says it runs counter to the “constructive atmosphere” at last month’s summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. U.S. State Department officials say the new sanctions were triggered automatically in response to the poisoning of a former Russian agent and his daughter in Britain. VOA’s diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
…

Montenegro on Thursday issued an international arrest warrant for a former CIA agent for alleged involvement in what the government said was a failed pro-Russia coup designed to prevent the Balkan country’s NATO membership.

Montenegro’s state TV said that prosecutors want the extradition of Joseph Assad, a U.S. citizen born and raised in Egypt, on charges of participating in a criminal enterprise led by two Russian military spy agency officers.

The Russians and 12 others, mostly Serbs, are on trial in Montenegro over the alleged election day plot in October 2016 that included plans to assassinate then-Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, storming parliament and taking over power. The Russians are being tried in absentia.

Montenegro’s prosecutors are investigating whether Assad was hired to help the 14 suspects on an escape plan. He was named during testimony by another former CIA agent at the trial.

Assad has reportedly refused to testify and denied wrongdoing.

Assad and his wife, Michele, both former U.S. counter-terrorism officers, gained international attention when U.S. media said they helped more than 100 Iraqi Christians to escape Islamic State group violence and flee to Europe as refugees in 2015.

Assad’s whereabouts are currently unknown. He is said to be heading an Abu Dhabi-based security agency.

Montenegro joined NATO last year despite strong opposition from its longtime Slavic ally Russia. Moscow has denied accusations that it took part in the plot.
…

The value of the Turkish lira hit a record low Thursday amid reports of a deadlock during talks in Washington between Turkey and the United States.

The lira has fallen more than 10 percent since last week, when Washington imposed sanctions against two Turkish ministers who have detained American Pastor Andrew Brunson.

“I would assume the Americans have now understood that they have the upper hand over Turkey,” said analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners. “They have got Turkey where it hurts, i.e., the threat of financial sanctions.”

Analysts say international investors were already jittery over Turkey’s debt-fueled growth and rampant inflation, along with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox economic policies.

Then on Monday, a sell-off in the lira was touched off by reports that the Trump administration was considering ending Turkey’s duty-free access to the U.S. market. The lira recovered a bit upon news of the diplomatic visit but began to slide again when initial reports of a U.S.-Turkish agreement were contradicted.

“Just a series of errors have killed investors’ confidence. The Brunson case and American sanctions were the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Yesilada said.

Under house arrest

Washington is demanding Brunson’s immediate release. He has been under house arrest while standing trial on terrorism charges. Washington dismissed the allegations as baseless, accusing Ankara of hostage-taking. U.S. diplomats are also reportedly pushing for the release of a number of jailed American citizens, along with three local employees working at U.S. diplomatic missions in Turkey.

“The kind of progress that we want is for Pastor Brunson, our locally employed staff and other Americans to be brought home. That’s the real progress that we’re looking for, and obviously, we’re not there yet,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday.

The Turkish delegation in the U.S., led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, is pushing for concessions from Washington over Turkish state lender Halkbank. The bank is facing a significant fine after a New York court this year convicted a senior executive, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, of violating U.S. Iranian sanctions. Ankara is also lobbying for the return of Atilla, who is serving a 32-month sentence in a U.S. jail.

Media reports that Ankara reneged last month on a deal for Brunson’s release have severely undermined Turkey’s bargaining position, said international relations expert Soli Ozel of Istanbul’s Kadir Has University.

“The non-release of the priest was a breach of contract in Washington’s eyes, and that’s why the response was furious. All those who were aligned to make things well with Turkey have turned against Turkey,” Ozel said.

‘New economic model’

In a bid to restore calm to the financial markets, Berat Albayrak, Turkey’s minister of finance and treasury, announced that a “new economic model would be unveiled” Friday.

His statement said the program would seek to rein in debt-fueled growth and target inflation — critical demands imposed by international investors. In the wake of the announcement, there was a momentary pause in the lira’s decline before it continued to fall.

Analysts point out that the continuing slide of the Turkish currency indicates that time is not on Ankara’s side.

“It’s do or die. Essentially, we are at the very brink of a currency or balance-of-payments crisis,” Yesilada said. “We are inches away from a major run on the Turkish lira. Foreign investors and domestic consumer confidence are at zero.

“Nothing less than a statement from the White House that the crisis has been resolved and no more sanctions are in the pipeline for Turkey would end the painful collapse of the currency. Statements from Ankara won’t do it. Ankara doesn’t have any credibility.”
…

While U.S. lawmakers press Twitter and Facebook to better police their platforms against Russian social media trolls and ponder tougher sanctions against Moscow, American voters remain vulnerable to divisive messaging and misinformation before midterm elections in November, experts told VOA.

“All of us, left and right [politically], are all very susceptible to being fooled by disinformation,” said Claire Wardle, director of First Draft News, a project at Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy that provides tools to fight false content on the Internet and social media.

“There are many people who are trying to spread misinformation.We all have to be much more skeptical of the information we are consuming and to be aware, particularly if it’s content that makes us have an emotional reaction,” Wardle added.

Last month, Facebook shut down 32 fake accounts that posted polarizing messages on race, gender, and fascism. In 2016, Russian trolls flooded Facebook, Twitter and other platforms with similar content, reaching millions of Americans.

One Russia-linked Twitter handle, 4MYSQUAD10, now deactivated, posted: “White America Does The Crime, Black America Gets The Time. WTF? #BlackLivesMatter #racism.”

Another, TEN_GOP 2545, posted: “Muslim bus driver throws all passengers out of the bus, so he has space and time to pray.”

“As humans we respond to fear,” Wardle said. “A lot of disinformation is driven by fear — other people you should be fearful of and then wanting to protect yourself, our family and your community.”

Last week, social media researchers told the Senate Intelligence Committee Russian efforts to polarize the American people are as pernicious as ever.

“Russian manipulation did not stop in 2016. After Election Day, the Russian government stepped on the gas,” New York-based Graphika CEO John Kelly said.

“Foreign actors will continue to aim future disinformation campaigns at African-American voters, Muslim-American voters, white supremacist voters,” Oxford University researcher Philip Howard told the panel. “I expect the strategy will remain the same: push disinformation about public issues and prevent particular types of voters from participating on Election Day.”

Political scientist Keneshia Grant may have had a firsthand brush with Russia’s use of social media to inflame racial tensions in the United States before the 2016 election, and believes American voters are still in Moscow’s crosshairs for malign messaging.

“There were minority communities targeted. I believe that targeting is still happening and that it has been getting more sophisticated over time,” said Grant, who teaches at Washington’s Howard University, a predominantly-African American institution.

In 2016, Grant noticed her Twitter account suddenly gained a group of mysterious and silent followers. She believed they were studying her posts to learn to craft messages to effectively target black Americans.

“There were 20-30 accounts of individuals who were trolling to see what I might say and, I suppose, to use that information to seem credible with other black users of Twitter,” she said. “I was one of the people who got an e-mail [from Twitter] saying you have interacted in some way with someone we believe to be fraudulent.”

Weeding out fake accounts

Social media companies have trumpeted their efforts to weed out fake accounts and bad actors. While commendable, Grant said it’s not enough.

“Americans have a responsibility to know that Russians are attempting to interfere in elections, and then to take the additional steps to figure out where information comes from that they are consuming.Not just consume it, but think about it,” she said.

Wardle concurred, but noted that social media trolls exploit a basic human tendency: giving credence to information or messaging that supports one’s outlook or ideology.

“People want to believe information that supports their worldview, whether that’s a belief on gun control or immigration or whether you’re more a dog person than a cat person,” she said, adding that counteracting that tendency will require holding people to account when they wittingly or unwittingly spread erroneous content.

“If we want to drive on roads that aren’t covered in garbage, we have to take responsibility for not throwing Coke cans out of the window,” she said.

“I want to see people recognize that when they click share’ [on social media], they have a responsibility for the information they are putting out,” she added. “So when crazy Uncle Bob is sharing false information, rather than saying, ‘well, that’s just crazy Uncle Bob,’ we should call him out and say that it’s not healthy for us to live in a society where we are sharing false information.”

The Harvard researcher noted that other regions of the world, like Eastern Europe, have been grappling with false information campaigns for far longer than the United States.

“After the election of 2016, when Americans all of a sudden woke up to misinformation, I think the rest of the world did a slow hand-clap and said ‘welcome to the party, America.'”

Some American schools have introduced curriculum to teach students to think more critically about the information they receive and to identify propaganda and malign messaging. Such classes should become standard, according to a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“We are asymmetrically vulnerable [to disinformation campaigns] because of the First Amendment and democracy, our whole system is based on information,” Maine independent Senator Angus King said.

“Our kids are growing up with these [high-tech] devices,” he added, “but not necessarily taught how they can be manipulated by their devices. I think there ought to be standardized courses in high school called digital literacy’ and increasing the public’s awareness that they are being conned.”
…

The United States has announced new sanctions on Russia in connection with its alleged attempt to poison a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain. The State Department Wednesday said Russia is being sanctioned because it used a chemical weapon in violation of international law. Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were poisoned by Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent, in Britain in March. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports the sanctions are to go in effect in about two weeks.
…

A record number of people were charged with modern slavery offenses in Britain this year, prosecutors revealed Thursday, but activists said the number of convictions had not increased significantly since a tough new law was introduced in 2015.

Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said 239 suspects had been charged with modern slavery offenses over the past year, up 27 percent from the year before.

Yet the number of convictions did not increase significantly: 185 people were found guilty over the same period, four more than last year, but down from 192 in 2016.

“We have yet to see any significant increase in the rate of convictions of those who traffic and enslave people,” said Kate Roberts, head of the Human Trafficking Foundation. “This underlines the importance of empowering and supporting victims to speak out and come forward to the authorities.”

​World leader against trafficking

Britain has been regarded as a world leader in the fight against trafficking since passing the 2015 Modern Slavery Act to fight a crime estimated to affect 40 million people worldwide.

The legislation introduced life sentences for traffickers, measures to protect people at risk of being enslaved, and made large companies inspect their supply chains for forced labor.

But activists say it has not yet made a serious dent in the trade in Britain. The government last month ordered a review of the law as it released data showing that modern slavery costs the country up to 4.3 billion pounds ($5.6 billion) annually.

The CPS said slavery cases were often complex, with investigators facing hurdles from language barriers to victims not recognizing they are slaves, or being scared to speak out. The average time to complete a slavery prosecution has doubled to almost three years since 2015, according to the CPS.

“These cases are growing in size and complexity, that’s why we have given our prosecutors extensive extra training,” said the director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders in a statement.

Cuts in resources

Government cuts to resources for police and prosecutors have also hampered the pursuit of justice, said Klara Skrivankova, U.K. and Europe program manager for Anti-Slavery International.

“The government needs to reverse these cuts and increase investment into tackling modern slavery to see any significant increase in traffickers being sent to jail and their victims being free for good,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Britain is home to about 136,000 modern slaves, Australian human rights group Walk Free said last month, a figure about 10 times higher than a 2013 government estimate.
…

German drugmaker Fresenius Kabi is suing to halt a planned execution in Nebraska, claiming the U.S. state illegally obtained the company’s drugs to use for the lethal injection procedure.

Fresenius Kabi filed the lawsuit Tuesday evening, saying the state was planning to use two of its drugs on August 14 to put to death convicted killer Carey Dean Moore.

Moore is sentenced to death for the 1979 murder of two taxi drivers. He is not contesting his execution order, but it could nevertheless be delayed by the lawsuit. 

If carried out, the execution would be Nebraska’s first in 21 years and its first-ever lethal injection.

The state plans to use four drugs — the sedative Diazepam, the powerful narcotic painkiller fentanyl citrate, the muscle relaxer cisatracurium and potassium chloride, which stops the heart.

Fresenius Kabi believes it is the source of the latter two drugs and is asking a federal judge to issue an order either temporarily or permanently blocking the state from using the injectable medications.

“While Fresenius Kabi takes no position on capital punishment, Fresenius Kabi opposes the use of its products for this purpose and therefore does not sell certain drugs to correctional facilities,” the company said in its civil complaint.

“These drugs, if manufactured by Fresenius Kabi, could only have been obtained by defendants in contradiction and contravention of the distribution contracts the company has in place and therefore through improper or illegal means.”

The drugmaker claims that with state executions regarded negatively among the majority of the European public, it could suffer “great reputational injury,” if its drugs are used for capital punishment.

The state of Nebraska has released limited information about the drugs and has not disclosed their source — reflecting a general dilemma for U.S. states that continue to carry out the death penalty via lethal injection.

Injectable drugs have become harder to acquire amid public opposition and a reluctance — or outright hostility — among drug manufacturers to sell their products to prisons for use in executions.

“Nebraska’s lethal injection drugs were purchased lawfully and pursuant to the State of Nebraska’s duty to carry out lawful capital sentences,” the state attorney general’s office said in a statement.

Last month, a similar lawsuit by drugmaker Alvogen at least temporarily halted an execution in Nevada.
…

Reports out of Turkey say a diplomatic delegation has already left and is set to visit Washington this week for discussions about the ongoing detention of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson. The U.S. State Department could not confirm that such a meeting is planned. The conflicting reports come at a time of escalating U.S.-Turkish tensions, which are threatening to trigger a financial crisis in Turkey. VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
…