Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/496615
Newsfeed BAGHDAD TheIslamic State extremist group launched an offensive Wednesday in Iraq's western Anbar province, capturing three villages near the provincial cap- ital of Ramadi in what was the most significant threat to the city by the Sunni militants to date. The militants' push comes after the Islamic State was dealt a major blow earlier this month, when Iraqi troops routed the group from Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's home- town. Wednesday's fight- ing could also further threaten Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. Nearly a decade ago, Ra- madi was one of the strongholds of the insur- gency in the U.S.-led war in Iraq. It now is mostly held by Iraqi govern- ment forces, although militants control some parts of it, mainly on the outskirts. IRAQ IslamicState militants seize villages near Ramadi ISTANBUL Turkey was on the defensive Wednesday, lashing out at both Pope Francis and the European Union's legislature for their de- scriptions of the Otto- man-era killing of Arme- nians as genocide. Turkey's prime min- ister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the pontiff has joined "an evil front" plotting against Turkey by describing the kill- ings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians as "the first genocide of the 20th century." Later Wednesday, the European Parliament triggered more Turk- ish ire by passing a non- binding resolution to commemorate "the cen- tenary of the Armenian genocide." In a quick re- sponse, the Turkish For- eign Ministry said the resolution was an at- tempt to rewrite history and threatens to harm bilateral relations be- tween the EU and Tur- key. Turkey had responded to the pope's words Sun- day by recalling its am- bassador to the Vatican. TURKEY Nation lashes out at pope over Armenia genocide comments HAVANA The U.S. and Cuba will open talks about two of America's most-wanted fugitives as part of a new dialogue about law-enforcement cooperation made possi- ble by President Barack Obama's decision to re- move Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terror, the State Department announced Wednesday. Cuban officials and ordinary citizens alike hailed Obama's action to remove the island from the list, saying it heals a decades-old insult to na- tional pride and clears the way to swiftly re- store diplomatic rela- tions. A Cuban govern- ment spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday. CUBA Cubans to open talks about US fugitives as ties warm By Ali Akbar Dareini The Associated Press TEHRAN, IRAN Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday dismissed pressure from the U.S. Con- gress over a preliminary deal on the Islamic Repub- lic's contested nuclear pro- gram, saying that Tehran is dealing with world pow- ers — not American law- makers. In a speech to tens of thousands of Iranians in the northern city of Rasht, Rou- hani said his nation is pur- suing a "dignified" agree- ment with the six-mem- ber group, which includes the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. Rouhani's remarks were an apparent reaction to developments Tuesday in Washington, where Presi- dent Barack Obama bowed to pressure from Republi- cans and Democrats and agreed to sign compromise legislation empowering Congress to reject a final nuclear deal with Iran. The legislation is now expected to sail through both houses of Congress but it is unclear how it will affect the ongo- ing nuclear talks with Iran. Tehran and world powers reached a framework agree- ment on the deal earlier this month. The deal, which is to be finalized by June 30, is meant to curb Iran's nu- clear program in return for lifting of crippling eco- nomic sanctions imposed on Iran. The disputes between the Obama administration and the Congress are an "inter- nal issue," Rouhani said. "Our partner is not the U.S. Congress or the Sen- ate, our partner is a group called '5+1,'" Rouhani said, referring to the six world powers — the five perma- nent U.N. Security Council members and Germany. "It has absolutely nothing to do with our government and nation what ... U.S. rep- resentatives or hard-liners say. ... We are looking for re- ciprocal ... good will and re- spect," he said. Rouhani reiterated his stance expressed last week that Tehran will not sign on to any final deal unless all economic sanctions are completely lifted. "If there is no end to sanctions, there will be no deal," Rouhani said. Iranian Foreign Minis- ter Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran will hold the U.S. administration, not the U.S. Congress, responsible for implementing a future deal. "As a point of principle, we hold the government of the United States respon- sible for implementing its international obligations," Zarif said during an offi- cial visit to Lisbon, Por- tugal, on Wednesday. "We will hold the U.S. govern- ment, the U.S. president ac- countable." IRAN Rouhani dismisses Congress pressure ANDREWHARNIK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Protestors sit in the audience Tuesday during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee business meeting to debate and vote on the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. By Michelle Faul The Associated Press LAGOS, NIGERIA Nigerian military operations against Boko Haram are focusing on a northeastern forest where officials believe more than 200 schoolgirls kid- napped a year ago are be- ing held, the government's counter-insurgency spokes- man said Wednesday. Parents and community leaders from Chibok town dismissed the statement as political grandstanding. The outgoing govern- ment of President Good- luck Jonathan "remains res- olute in finding and return- ing them (the girls) to their homes," said Mike Omeri of the National Information Centre at a news conference in Abuja, the capital. A military offensive has driven the Boko Haram Islamic extremists out of all strongholds except the northeastern forest, said Omeri. "Presently, the military is moving into the Sambisa Forest," he said, "Our intel- ligence indicates that the present military operation is focused in the area where the girls are believed to be held." His statements are a far cry from the uncertainty about the girls' fate ex- pressed Tuesday by Pres- ident-elect Muhammadu Buhari, who pledged to be honest with the parents. Speaking on the first an- niversary of the kidnap- ping, Buhari said he would not make any promises to find the girls because their whereabouts remain un- known. Parents and community leaders told The Associ- ated Press that their infor- mation indicates the girls were moved from Sambisa within weeks of their ab- duction. They insisted on anonymity for fear of at- tack by Boko Haram. Community leader Pogu Bitrus said the last reported sighting of the girls was last year in the Alagarno for- est. Nigeria's military said it drove Boko Haram from Alagarno last week, but added there were no signs of the girls. "They are using our girls for political purposes," Bitrus said. Parents met with a rep- resentative of Finance Min- ister Ngozi Ikonjo-Iweala who promised work would start Monday by soldiers to rebuild the school burned by Boko Haram, commu- nity leader Dr. Idrisa Dan- ladi told the AP. Jonathan's government initially denied the mass abduction and then made some misleading state- ments about the girls, as did the military. Both have faced international outrage for failing to rescue the girls snatched from a school in Chibok on April 14-15. Doz- ens escaped but 219 remain missing. NIGERIA Military focus on area abducted girls believed held By Barry Hatton The Associated Press LISBON, PORTUGAL Vaca- tions in Europe have a new attraction: the euro's steep drop in value is making the continent much cheaper for tourists from across the world, especially the United States and China. For American tour- ists, the dollar's strength translates into a discount of around 25 percent com- pared with this time last year. China's currency has risen some 20 percent against the euro over the past year. And eurozone residents feeling the pinch from their sluggish economies are more likely to stay inside the bloc, where they won't feel the currency changes. That means the ingre- dients are in place for "a great year for tourism" in Europe, says Nick Green- field, head of tour opera- tor relations at the Lon- don-based European Tour Operators Association. The euro has fallen against many currencies in recent times, but its drop has been particularly pronounced against the dollar. The euro was trad- ing at $1.057 on Wednes- day, having been as high as $1.40 a year ago. Tim Cooper, a global economist at BMI Research in Lon- don, says his company ex- pects the euro and dollar to reach parity later this year. The European Central Bank's policies have been weakening the euro, while those of the U.S. Federal Reserve have been bolster- ing the dollar. The euro has also been dragged down by fears over Greece's debts and the bloc's muted eco- nomic growth. U.S. bookings to some European countries have risen by up to 20 percent so far, European tourism offi- cials and American travel companies report. Lyssandros Tsilidis, president of the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agents, said Greece has seen a 15-20 percent increase in reservations from the U.S. — Europe's biggest long-haul market — compared to the same time last year. Spain saw a 12 percent increase in Jan- uary and almost 19 percent in February. Officials antic- ipate more growth, which they attribute to the dol- lar's strength. 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