Mitsotakis favorite as Greece heads to uncertain polls

From right to left, New Democracy leader and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Alexis Tsipras, PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis, Communist Party of Greece Secretary-General Dimitris Koutsoubas, Greek Solution leader Kyriakos Velopoulos, and MeRA25 Secretary Yanis Varoufakis wait for the start of debate at the premises of public broadcaster ERT in Athens, Greece, on May 10, 2023. (AP)
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Updated 21 May 2023
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Mitsotakis favorite as Greece heads to uncertain polls

  • The EU country goes into the polls in fairly robust economic health, with unemployment and inflation falling
  • Close to 10 million Greeks are eligible to cast a ballot, including 440,000 first-time voters

ATHENS: Greece votes Sunday in a general election that could deliver a chaotic outcome, with the leading candidate, conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, unlikely to garner a lead wide enough to avoid a new vote.

The EU country goes into the polls in fairly robust economic health, with unemployment and inflation falling and growth this year projected to reach twice that of the bloc — a far cry from the throes of a crippling debt crisis a decade ago.
But economic issues remain squarely in focus even though a post-Covid tourism revival helped Greece book growth of 5.9 percent in 2022.
The outgoing prime minister has urged voters not to squander hard-fought economic stability.
But his key opponent, the former leftist premier Alexis Tsipras, has warned that the rosy hard-line figures belie growing poverty as wages fail to keep pace with rising prices.
Tsipras is seeking a comeback after a first mandate in 2015 to 2019, during which he led rocky negotiations with creditors that nearly crashed Greece out of the euro.
Close to 10 million Greeks are eligible to cast a ballot, including 440,000 first-time voters.

Opinion polls suggest that Mitsotakis enjoys a clear lead of five to seven percentage points.
But the likely outcome of the vote is unpredictable, as changes to the electoral rules mean that no party is expected to obtain an outright majority.
Whether the party that tops the polls would seek a coalition or turn to another round of votes by early July to determine who governs Greece could depend on the size of the lead it amasses.
That could spell weeks of horsetrading, with the socialist party Pasok-Kinal, led by 44-year-old Nikos Androulakis, a potential kingmaker.

Sunday’s vote marks the second national elections in which Mitsotakis, 55, a Harvard graduate and former McKinsey consultant, is pitted against Tsipras, a 48-year-old former communist and trained engineer.
The outgoing premier says he has delivered on his previous electoral promises of lower taxes, tougher immigration rules and steady growth.
“We will continue with building a new Greece,” Mitsotakis vowed at his last rally on Friday before a campaigning blackout until polls open at 7:00 am on Sunday.
But Tsipras has accused Mitsotakis of promising “better jobs and wages, only to have the middle class live on coupons.”
Cost of living and employment issues occupy many voters’ minds.
“Life, especially for young people, is very difficult. Unemployment is high, there are no work prospects and salaries vanish at the end of the month,” said Athens resident Dora Vasilopoulo, 41.
In Greece’s second-biggest city Thessaloniki, Giorgos Antonopoulos, 39, who works at a commercial store, said “salaries are used up halfway through the month and nothing is done to address this issue.
“We work just to survive.”
But Nadia Aggelopoulou, 47, a civil servant, said she believed that Mitsotakis was “doing what he can” to fight inflation.
His government “has been excellent on all levels,” she said, adding that “we don’t hear lies. We’re expecting salary hikes.”

But ahead of the vote, Mitsotakis’ government has come under pressure over the devastating head-on train collision in February that claimed 57 lives.
The government had initially blamed the accident on human error, even though Greece’s notoriously poor rail network had been suffering from years of under-investment.
The prime minister’s tough stance against immigration also came under the spotlight as The New York Times this week published footage allegedly showing Greek coast guards expelling migrants by setting them adrift in the Aegean Sea.
The images were described as “disturbing” by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who also urged an independent inquiry.
A wiretap scandal that forced the resignations of the head of the intelligence service and a nephew of Mitsotakis, who was a top aide in his office, could also have an impact on the election outcome.
Androulakis, the Pasol-Kinal leader, had been seen as a potential coalition partner for Mitsotakis but chances for cooperation plunged when he discovered he had been under state surveillance.
During a visit in March by a delegation of the European Parliament’s committee on civil liberties, MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld said there were “very serious threats to the rule of law and fundamental rights” in Greece.
 


India, Pakistan accuse each other of violating ceasefire hours after reaching deal

Updated 6 sec ago
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India, Pakistan accuse each other of violating ceasefire hours after reaching deal

  • US-mediated deal had been expected to bring a swift end to weeks of escalating clashes

ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan accused each other of violating a ceasefire deal made hours earlier Saturday after US-led talks to end the most serious military confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said late Saturday that “there had been repeated violations of the understanding arrived between the two countries” on ceasing fire and accused Pakistan of breaching the agreement.

“We call upon Pakistan to take appropriate steps to address these violations and deal with the situation with seriousness and responsibility,” he said at a news conference in New Delhi. Misri said the Indian army was “retaliating” for what he called a “border intrusion.”

Within hours of the truce announcement, violations were reported from the main cities of Indian-administered Kashmir, as well as in Azad Kashmir on the Pakistani side of the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan.

The reports came after Islamabad and India both announced a sudden stop to a conflict that had seemed to be spiraling alarmingly. The US said they had also agreed to hold talks on a broad range of issues at a neutral site.

Pakistani Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told Arab News, “the response would be harsh” if India defied the ceasefire agreement. 

The deal had been expected to bring a swift end to weeks of escalating clashes, including missile and drone strikes, triggered by the massacre of tourists by gunmen last month that India blames on Pakistan, which denies the charge. Dozens of civilians have been killed on both sides since then. But multiple explosions were heard in two large cities of India-controlled Kashmir hours after the countries agreed to the deal.

The first word of the truce came from US President Donald Trump, who posted on his Truth Social platform that India and Pakistan had agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire: “Congratulations to both Countries on using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar announced the truce on Geo News, saying that Saudi Arabia and Turkiye played an important role in facilitating the deal.

Misri said the head of military operations from both countries spoke Saturday afternoon and top military leaders will speak again Monday.

“It was agreed between them that both sides would stop all firing and military action on land, and in the air and sea. Instructions have been given on both sides to give effect to this understanding,” he said.

Hours after the agreement, explosions heard by residents in Srinagar and Jammu in India-controlled Kashmir were followed by blackouts in the two cities. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Omar Abdullah, the region’s top elected official, said in a post on social media: “What the hell just happened to the ceasefire? Explosions heard across Srinagar!!!”

Working toward a broader agreement

Conflict between India and Pakistan is not rare, with the two countries having periodically engaged in wars, clashes and skirmishes since gaining independence from British India in 1947.

The ceasefire in the latest hostilities came after the countries fired volleys of cross-border missile strikes Saturday, when India said it targeted Pakistani air bases after Islamabad fired several high-speed missiles at military and civilian infrastructure in Punjab state. Pakistan said it responded with retaliatory strikes.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he and Vice President JD Vance had engaged with senior officials from both countries over the past 48 hours. They included Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shehbaz Sharif, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and the Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir.

Rubio said the two governments agreed to “start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site.”

Though Pakistanis had initially celebrated their army’s retaliation, they were later jubilant about the truce, saying it was a moment of national pride and relief after days of tension.

In Islamabad, Zubaida Bibi expressed her joy at the restoration of peace with India.

“War brings nothing but suffering,” she said. “We are happy that calm is returning. It feels like Eid to me. We have won.”

Indian strikes hit Pakistani air bases

Tensions have soared since the attack at a popular tourist site in India-controlled Kashmir left 26 civilians dead, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, on April 22.

Earlier Saturday, India’s military held a press briefing in New Delhi, saying Pakistan had targeted health facilities and schools at its three air bases in Kashmir.

“Befitting reply has been given to Pakistani actions,” Indian Col. Sofiya Qureshi said.

Indian missiles targeted Nur Khan air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, Murid air base in Chakwal city and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of eastern Punjab province, according to Pakistan’s military spokesman.

There were no immediate reports of the strike or its aftermath from residents in the densely populated Rawalpindi.

Pakistan’s military had said it used medium-range Fateh missiles to hit an Indian missile storage facility and air bases in the cities of Pathankot and Udhampur. Army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif said the country’s air force assets were safe after the Indian assault.

The Associated Press could not independently verify all the actions attributed to Pakistan or India.

Explosions in India-controlled Kashmir

After the announcement of Pakistani retaliation, residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir said they heard loud explosions at multiple places, including the large cities of Srinagar and Jammu and the garrison town of Udhampur.

“Explosions that we are hearing today are different from the ones we heard the last two nights during drone attacks,” said Shesh Paul Vaid, the region’s former top police official and Jammu resident. “It looks like a war here.”

Vaid said explosions were heard from areas with military bases, adding it appeared that army sites were targeted. Residents living near Srinagar’s airport, which is also an air base, said they were rattled by the explosions and booming sound of jets.

“I was already awake, but the explosions jolted my kids out of their sleep. They started crying,” said Srinagar resident Mohammed Yasin.

Omar Abdullah, Indian-controlled Kashmir’s top elected official, welcomed the ceasefire. But he said had it happened two or three days earlier “we might have avoided the bloodshed and the loss of precious lives.”


Flooding in eastern Congo kills 62 people with 50 missing

Updated 10 May 2025
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Flooding in eastern Congo kills 62 people with 50 missing

  • Witnesses described the floods surging at around 5 a.m. Friday
  • The rescue operation was hampered by a lack of servicescongo

BUKAVU, Congo: Heavy flooding following torrential rains in eastern Congo washed away several villages along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, leaving at least 62 dead and 50 missing, authorities said Saturday.

Witnesses described the floods surging at around 5 a.m. Friday and sweeping away the village of Kasaba on the edge of the lake in the Ngandja sector.

The South Kivu provincial health minister, Théophile Walulika Muzaliwa, said by phone that the rescue operation was hampered by a lack of services and a shutdown of telephone lines due to the flooding.

“Sector chiefs, village chiefs and locality chiefs, who are also members of the local government, are on site. The only humanitarian organization currently present is the Red Cross. It is not possible to give an assessment as body searches are continuing,” he said.

Last month, flooding in the capital, Kinshasa, killed 33 people.

Decades of fighting between government troops and rebels in eastern Congo escalated in February, worsening what is already one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.


UK pro-Israel group slammed for suggesting war could reduce Gaza obesity

Updated 10 May 2025
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UK pro-Israel group slammed for suggesting war could reduce Gaza obesity

  • Comments follow warnings by UN, aid agencies that enclave faces imminent famine
  • Council for Arab-British Understanding, Palestine Solidarity Campaign label remarks ‘atrocious’, ‘utterly sickening’, ‘repulsive’

LONDON: A pro-Israel pressure group in the UK has been condemned for suggesting that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip may benefit from a reduction in obesity levels arising from the war, The Guardian reported on Saturday.

The comments — made by Jonathan Turner, head of UK Lawyers for Israel — followed a series of warnings by the UN and aid agencies that Gaza faces imminent famine.

Turner, on behalf of UKLFI, was responding to a motion set to be debated at the annual general meeting of the Co-operative Group, a major British retailer.

The motion calls for the Co-operative to stop stocking Israeli products, as part of the worldwide Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. UKLFI urged the Co-operative council to withdraw the motion.

In doing so, Turner highlighted the motion’s reference to a letter published last year by The Lancet, a leading medical journal, which said the death toll in Gaza could be far higher than the 52,000 put forth by the enclave’s Health Ministry.

Turner said the letter “ignored factors that may increase average life expectancy in Gaza, bearing in mind that one of the biggest health issues in Gaza prior to the current war was obesity … These factors include the possible reduction in the availability of confectionery and cigarettes.”

Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, said on X that Turner’s comments represent “atrocious views,” adding: “How very kind of Israel to put 2.3 million Palestinians on an enforced diet to improve their obesity levels.”

The Lancet has published several studies relating to Israel’s war in Gaza. One found that life expectancy in the enclave plunged by 34.9 years during the first year of the war. Gaza’s pre-war life expectancy was 75.5 years.

Since March, Israel has implemented a total blockade on the entry of humanitarian goods to the enclave.

Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “As children in the Gaza Strip face the growing risk of starvation, illness and death, the suggestion by the head of UK Lawyers for Israel that they might benefit from weight loss is utterly sickening.

“These repulsive comments illustrate exactly what it means to be ‘for Israel’ and how low its apologists are prepared to sink in their attempts to justify genocide in Gaza.”

UKLFI previously faced controversy over the removal of artwork made by Palestinian children in a London hospital.

The organization submitted a complaint to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in 2023, claiming that artwork created by Palestinian children and displayed in the facility made Jewish patients feel “vulnerable, harassed and victimized.” The hospital removed the works.


Amnesty International says at least 30 dead in separatist attack in southeastern Nigeria

Updated 10 May 2025
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Amnesty International says at least 30 dead in separatist attack in southeastern Nigeria

  • No group has claimed responsibility for the attack
  • The rights group said “international law requires the Nigerian government to promptly investigate unlawful killings”

ABUJA: At least 30 people have been killed after gunmen attacked travelers on a major highway in the southeastern part of Nigeria, rights group Amnesty International said.

The rights group said more than 20 vehicles and trucks were set ablaze during the Thursday attack along the Okigwe-Owerri highway in Imo state. Police confirmed the attack but not the death toll.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but police suspect the Eastern Security Network, the paramilitary wing of the proscribed separatist group Indigenous People of Biafra.

The secessionist campaign in southeastern Nigeria dates back to when the short-lived Republic of Biafra fought and lost a civil war from 1967 to 1970 to become independent from the West African country. An estimated 1 million people died in the conflict, many from starvation.

The rights group said “international law requires the Nigerian government to promptly investigate unlawful killings with a view to bringing perpetrators to justice.”

One suspect connected to the attack was killed in a joint operation by law enforcement agencies, police spokesperson Okoye Henry said in a statement.

“An intensive manhunt is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects and bring them to justice,” Henry said.

Two of the group’s prominent leaders, Nnamdi Kanu and Simon Ekpa, are in custody in Nigeria and Finland, respectively.

Kanu is standing trial on a seven-count charge bordering on terrorism and treasonable felony. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Nigerian government said Friday it has not begun extradition proceedings but is in talks with Finnish authorities to ensure Ekpa is held accountable for his alleged actions.

For many years Nigeria — Africa’s most populous nation with at least 210 million people — has been wracked by violence related to the activities of armed extremist groups.


Polish nationalists stage anti-immigration demo ahead of polls

Updated 10 May 2025
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Polish nationalists stage anti-immigration demo ahead of polls

  • The protest, organized by the nationalist opposition, drew demonstrators from across Poland
  • Immigration is a central issue in the central European country ahead of the May 18 election

WARSAW: Several thousand people demonstrated in Warsaw on Saturday against illegal immigration and the pro-European government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a week before the EU member chooses a new president.

The protest, organized by the nationalist opposition, drew demonstrators from across Poland, who carried the red and white national flag and chanted slogans such as “no to immigration.”

Immigration is a central issue in the central European country ahead of the May 18 election.

Poland currently hosts around one million refugees from the war in neighboring Ukraine, and has accused Russia and Belarus of orchestrating a wave of immigration into the European Union member.

The protesters made their way toward the seat of government in central Warsaw, chanting the name of nationalist presidential candidate Karol Nawrocki.

The 42-year-old fan of US President Donald Trump has the backing of the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party and outgoing President Andrzej Duda.

He is polling second in the presidential race, with around 25 percent support.

The frontrunner, Warsaw’s pro-European Union Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, has the support of Tusk’s Civic Coalition and is polling on 32 percent.

“Poland has to defend itself against illegal immigration. These migrants have their own countries. They should stay there,” 66-year-old farmer Boguslaw Uchmanowicz told AFP.