MOSCOW (AP) _ Russia showed off new machines of war, including a highly sophisticated tank, on Saturday in the annual Victory Day military parade through Red Square that marks the surrender of Nazi Germany and the Red Army’s key role in the defeat.
The Armata tank drew a round of strong applause as it rumbled through the square, part of a long convoy that ranged from the World War II era to the most modern. Also on view for the first time at the parade was a lumbering RS-24 Yars ICBM launcher along with several new, smaller vehicles.
Victory Day is Russia’s most important secular holiday, both commemorating the Soviet Union’s huge suffering in the war and highlighting Russia’s portrayal of itself as a force for peace and security. This year’s parade, on the 70th anniversary of the surrender, was the biggest military parade since the Soviet Union’s collapse.
In his speech to the assembled troops and veterans, President Vladimir Putin said that the carnage of the war underlined the importance of international cooperation, but “in the past decades we have seen attempts to create a unipolar world.” That phrase is often used by Russia to criticize the United States’ purported aim to dominate world affairs.
The observances were shadowed by the near-complete absence of European leaders from the ceremony. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to come to Moscow on Sunday, a visit that will include recognition of the Red Army’s sacrifices.
___
US open to talks with North Korea to test waters on nuclear issue, but prospects remain bleak
WASHINGTON (AP) _ After three years of diplomatic deadlock, the Obama administration says it is open to holding preliminary talks with North Korea to probe its intentions and assess the prospects of ridding the country of nuclear weapons.
A senior South Korean envoy traveled to Washington and Beijing this past week as nations involved in long-stalled aid-for-disarmament negotiations consider their diplomatic options. Tensions have eased a little on the Korean Peninsula following the completion of annual U.S.-South Korean military drills.
But it remains unclear if a diplomatic overture to North Korea will even get to first base as the Asian nation appears intent on retaining its nuclear weapons. U.S. officials don’t believe the North has demonstrated a serious interest in re-engaging on the issue, and a spokesman at the North Korean diplomatic mission at the United Nations declined to comment on the question of re-engagement.
President Barack Obama has broken the ice with several other long-standing adversaries, like Iran, Cuba and Myanmar. In the case of Iran, the U.S. has joined with other world powers in negotiating a framework agreement to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
North Korea has gone far beyond that point. The North conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, and despite international sanctions intended to prevent Pyongyang from obtaining sensitive technology and starve it of funds, U.S.-based experts are forecasting that it could increase its nuclear arsenal from at least 10 weapons today to between 20 and 100 weapons by 2020.
___
Officials say at least 6 guards, 30 prisoners killed in Iraq prison break; 40 inmates escape
BAGHDAD (AP) _ The spokesman for Iraq’s Interior Ministry says that 40 inmates escaped from a prison in eastern Iraq after overpowering guards, an assault that killed six police officers and 30 prisoners.
Brig. Gen. Saad Maan said Saturday that a fight broke out among the inmates of the Khalis prison in Diyala province and when guards went to investigate, they were overpowered and had their weapons taken.
Maan says some of those that escaped were wanted on terrorism charges. There are hundreds of inmates in the prison.
___
Mounting brazen attacks, New Generation cartel arises from Mexico’s assault on big drug lords
MEXICO CITY (AP) _ It has the drugs and distribution system of a traditional cartel _ and it has the modern weapons and audacity of an army. After attacking federal forces, downing a military helicopter and shutting down streets in Mexico’s second-largest city last week, the New Generation Jalisco cartel is now the main enemy in the country’s fight with drug cartels.
In just a few years, New Generation has grown from being an offshoot of the powerful Sinaloa cartel to one of Mexico’s strongest criminal groups in its own right, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, whose Office of Foreign Assets Control maintains a “black list” of drug trafficking organizations.
Its quick rise reflects a rapidly changing organized-crime landscape in Mexico as the government targets top leaders of established cartels. More than any other criminal group, New Generation has taken advantage of the government’s top-capo strategy, strengthening and grabbing territory from other cartels as they are weakened.
“You’re talking about a powerful, large organization with grand logistics, well-made structures, a strong group of assassins, and dedicated and qualified people with high-caliber weaponry,” Guillermo Valdes, a security expert and former director of the Mexican intelligence agency, told The Associated Press. “It’s a new cartel, a second generation born in a restructuring process.”
The strategy of hitting top leadership began in 2006 under President Felipe Calderon and has continued under his successor, Enrique Pena Nieto. As a result, large organizations have been fragmented, leaving smaller, leaderless groups to fight among themselves over control of local organized crime activities and drug-smuggling routes to the north.
___
Polish president challenged in re-election bid by rock star, ex-actress, vodka producer
WARSAW, Poland (AP) _ The incumbent is an aristocrat who embodies Polish tradition. His challengers include a punk rock star, a blonde bombshell actress and a renegade vodka producer who once wielded a gun at a press conference.
Poland’s presidential elections Sunday have a colorful cast of candidates whose antics are providing most of the drama, because there’s little suspense about the result: President Bronislaw Komorowski expected to easily win re-election.
Komorowski, a popular leader aligned with the ruling center-right Civic Platform party, won office in 2010 after his predecessor, Lech Kaczynski, died in a plane crash.
His time in office has been marked by general harmony with his allies in government. He has long enjoyed high approval ratings, though some voters seem to be growing bored by him and Civic Platform, which has been in power since 2007. That has given a boost to the anti-establishment candidates, most of all for the punk rocker Pawel Kukiz _ pronounced like “cookies” _ who used to perform in a band called “Breasts.”
If no candidate wins at least 50 percent on Sunday, a runoff will be held on May 24. The presidency carries many ceremonial duties, with most power in the hands of the government. However, the president is also officially the commander-in-chief and has the power to propose and veto legislation.
___
Britain’s Prince Harry talks rugby, presses noses with Maori on 1st trip to New Zealand
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) _ Britain’s Prince Harry arrived in New Zealand Saturday for a weeklong visit and was soon talking about the country’s prowess in rugby, pressing noses with indigenous Maori leaders, and laughing off marriage proposals.
Harry was greeted by Prime Minister John Key and other dignitaries when his plane landed in Wellington on a sunny and calm fall day. Wearing a blue suit, Harry stopped often to say hello to cheering fans as he began his first tour of the South Pacific commonwealth nation of 4.5 million.
From the airport he traveled to Government House for an official welcome. He pressed noses with Maori leaders in a traditional greeting called a “hongi” and met with military representatives. He also talked with schoolchildren, feigning surprise when some told him they didn’t play rugby.
“I thought you would be forced to play rugby,” he said. “That’s why you have such a good rugby team isn’t it?”
Harry was scheduled to watch a rugby game Saturday night between Wellington’s Hurricanes and South Africa’s Durban-based Sharks. The prince also talked about soccer, telling the children that most royal family members were Arsenal fans.