ISTANBUL – A top Turkish official on Friday accused the United States of “standing up for savages” by not immediately handing over a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who the government claims orchestrated last week’s failed coup. Speaking in Washington, President Barack Obama said there was a legal process for extradition and encouraged Turkey to present evidence.
In a sign of increasing tension, Turkey said it was dispatching its justice and interior ministers to the United States next week to push for the extradition of the cleric, Fethullah Gulen.
The two NATO countries are allies in the fight against the Islamic State group; American military jets have been flying missions against extremists in Iraq and Syria out of the Turkish air base at Incirlik.
U.S. officials said Friday that electric power was restored to the Incirlik base, which had been operating on a backup generator since July 16, when power was shut off at all military bases in Turkey following the failed coup.
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia – The more than two-year-long hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will be suspended once the current search area in the Indian Ocean has been completely scoured, the three countries conducting the operation announced Friday, possibly ending all hopes of solving aviation’s greatest mystery.
Some families of the lost plane’s 239 passengers and crew were angry over the decision to stop what is already the most expensive search in aviation history, having cost $135 million. Others continued to hold out hope.
“In the absence of new evidence, Malaysia, Australia and China have collectively decided to suspend the search upon completion of the 46,300-square-mile) search area,” Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said after a meeting with his Australian and Chinese counterparts.
There are fewer than 3,900 square miles left to be searched.
PARIS – French President François Hollande announced new help Friday for Iraq’s military in fighting Islamic State extremists, trying to show his government is taking action amid criticism that there weren’t enough police protecting Nice’s Bastille Day celebration when a truck attack last week killed 84 people.
Hollande also outlined plans for expanded military deployment within France this summer, and defended his interior minister’s handling of the Nice police presence. Frustration is mushrooming that French authorities were unable to prevent the July 14 attack despite being in a state of emergency after a string of previous violence.
Hollande said he decided at an emergency security meeting Friday to send artillery equipment to Iraq next month as part of increased military help to fight ISIS.
Associated Press
