Former Israeli PM Olmert Leaves Prison, Heads To Mall

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, left, exits prison after his sentence, in Ramle, Israel, Sunday, July 2, 2017. The parole board of Israel's Prison Service has granted Olmert early release from prison. Prison Service spokesman Assaf Librati says the board granted Olmert's request to reduce a third of his 27-month incarceration sentence.

JERUSALEM (AP, JULY 02, 2017) — Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert left prison Sunday after winning early release from a parole board, capping an ignominious chapter of Israeli history that transformed the once-powerful leader into the first premier ever to be placed behind bars.

Olmert, who served 16 months for his role in a corruption scandal, appeared gaunt and pale as he walked out of the Maasiyahu prison in central Israel. Wearing a tight black T-shirt, he was quickly whisked away by security, but later was seen mingling with shoppers in an upscale shopping mall in Tel Aviv.

"We are very happy, a great burden has been lifted and a great sorrow and pain has ended," Eti Livni, a friend of Olmert's, told Army Radio. Olmert, 71, was serving a 27-month sentence when the national parole board decided last week to release him early for good behavior. Olmert had recently been hospitalized after complaining of chest pains.

Under the terms of his release, Olmert must perform volunteer work for several months, report to police twice a month and not give interviews to the media or leave the country, said prison service spokesman Assaf Librati. Olmert will reportedly volunteer at a food bank and for a group that provides medical aid to needy families.

A few hours after his release, a somber-looking Olmert, accompanied by a bodyguard, was seen walking around a shopping mall in Tel Aviv. A public relations company representing the mall released photos of the former premier in a clothing store. The statement said people had greeted him and wished him well, and in one picture, a smiling Olmert is seen chatting with a store employee.

Just a few years ago, Olmert was hobnobbing with the world's rich and famous and leading his country in an intense round of peace talks with the Palestinians. But in 2008, he was forced to resign to fight off a burgeoning corruption case, leading to the election of the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the following year. Peace efforts have been all but frozen ever since.

Olmert was a longtime fixture in Israel's hawkish right wing when he began taking a dramatically more conciliatory line toward the Palestinians more than a decade ago. He played a leading role in Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and joined then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in breaking away from the hard-line Likud Party and forming a new centrist party called Kadima later that year.

Olmert became prime minister in January 2006 after Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke and led Kadima to victory in parliamentary elections, promising additional peace moves with the Palestinians. Olmert presided over a turbulent three-year term. Shortly after his election, Palestinian militants from Gaza crossed the border and captured an Israeli soldier. Weeks later, Hezbollah militants in Lebanon burst across Israel's northern border and captured two more soldiers, setting off a monthlong war.

A weakened Olmert led his government to a U.S.-hosted peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November 2007 — launching more than a year of ambitious, but ultimately unsuccessful U.S.-brokered talks.

A gifted orator known for his sharp tongue, Olmert broke a series of taboos while in office — warning that Israel could become like apartheid South Africa if it continued its occupation of the Palestinians and expressing readiness to relinquish parts of Jerusalem under a peace deal.

Olmert has said he made unprecedented concessions to the Palestinians — including a near-total withdrawal from the West Bank and an offer to place Jerusalem's Old City under international control — and was close to reaching an agreement at the time of his resignation.

Olmert, who over the years developed a reputation for loving the good life, was convicted in 2014 in a wide-ranging case that accused him of accepting bribes to promote a real-estate project in Jerusalem and obstructing justice. The charges pertained to a period when he was mayor of Jerusalem and trade minister before he became premier in 2006.

Olmert repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and on the day he reported to prison, he released a video proclaiming his innocence. Israel has sent other senior officials to prison, including Moshe Katsav, who held the largely ceremonial post of president before serving five years in prison for rape and other sex crimes. But Olmert is the only former prime minister to go to prison.

Olmert was rushed to the hospital with chest pains last month, but doctors ruled out a heart attack. A few days before that, Israel's Justice Ministry asked the police to investigate whether Olmert committed a "criminal offense" while behind bars.

It said a book Olmert is writing touches on "sensitive security issues" and that his lawyer was caught leaving the prison with a chapter on "secret operations" not approved by the censor for publication. Police searched the publishing house of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper over the incident.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked welcomed Olmert's release, telling Army Radio he deserved to have his sentence reduced and that "all in all his behavior in prison was very good."

French President Vows Support In Africa Anti-Extremist Fight

French President Emmanuel Macron, third left, participates in a group photo during the opening session of G5 Sahel force summit in Bamako, Mali, Sunday July 2, 2017. Macron is meeting with heads of state from five nations across Africa's Sahel region to strengthen a new 5,000-strong regional force meant to counter a growing threat from extremists who have targeted tourist resorts and other high-profile areas. From left, Burkina-Faso president Roch Marc Christian Kabore, Mauritania president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Macron, Mali president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Chad president Idriss Deby and Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou.

BAMAKO, MALI (AP, JULY 02, 2017) — France's president on Sunday promised strong support for a new multinational military force against extremists in Africa's vast Sahel region, saying the "terrorists, thugs and assassins" need to be eradicated.

President Emmanuel Macron, meeting in Mali with leaders from the five regional countries involved, said France will provide military support for operations as well as 70 tactical vehicles and communications, operations and protective equipment.

The 5,000-strong force will be deployed by September, and its funding will be finalized by then, Macron said at a press conference. The leaders of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad — known as the G5 — must clarify their roles and contributions for the force to attract more support from outside countries, the French president added.

"We cannot hide behind words, and must take actions," he said. The new anti-terror force will operate in the region along with a 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, which has become the deadliest in the world, and France's own 5,000-strong Barkhane military operation, its largest overseas mission.

The new force is not meant to replace those missions, Macron said. "It's a force that fights against terrorism, and the trafficking of drugs and humans." Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said each of the Sahel countries would contribute 10 million euros ($11 million) toward the force's overall budget of 423 million euros ($480 million).

The European Union already has pledged some 50 million euros ($57 million) in support of the new G5 force. In mid-June, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution welcoming the deployment of the new force. The U.N., however, will not contribute financially.

Sunday's meetings came a day after the recently formed extremist group Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, based in Mali, released a proof-of-life video showing six foreign hostages seized in the region in recent years. The video claimed that "no genuine negotiations have begun to rescue your children."

Macron said he welcomed the first sign of life for several months from the French hostage in the video, Sophie Petronin. "They are terrorists, thugs and assassins," Macron said of the extremists. "And we will put all of our energies into eradicating them."

The threat in the region has been growing for years. A French-led intervention drove out Islamic extremists from strongholds in northern Mali in 2013, but the extremists have continued targeting peacekeepers and other forces. Religious extremism has spread south, and attacks have become more brazen.

In March, the extremist groups Ansar Dine, Al-Mourabitoun and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb declared that they had merged into Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen.

Associated Press writers Philippe Sotto in Paris and Carley Petesch in Dakar, Senegal contributed.

Thousands Protest In German City Of Hamburg Before G20

Participants of the demonstration 'G20 Protest Wave' gather in Hamburg, Germany, Sunday, July 2, 2017 to protest against the upcoming G20 summit on July 7 and July 8, 2017. (Markus Scholz/dpa via AP)

HAMBURG, GERMANY (AP, JULY 02, 2017) — Thousands of people are taking part in the first major protest in the northern German city of Hamburg before the Group of 20 meeting next weekend. About 4,000 people marched through the city center Sunday to protest against the climate and trade policies of the world's major developed and emerging economies.

The demonstration, which also saw protesters take to the water with a flotilla of hundreds of small boats, was organized by environmental, labor, human rights and church groups. Authorities are putting in place tight security and declaring certain areas of Hamburg off limits to protesters during the July 7-8 summit.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a video address Sunday that she wants discussion among leaders to include issues such as sustainable development, labor rights and environmental protection.

Pope Pushes Out German Hardliner, Chooses New Doctrine Chief

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller arrives in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican to attend the weekly general audience. Pope Francis has declined to renew the mandate of the Vatican's conservative doctrine chief, tapping instead the No. 2 to lead the powerful congregation that handles sex abuse cases and guarantees Catholic orthodoxy around the world. In a short statement Saturday, July , 2017, the Vatican said Francis thanked Cardinal Gerhard Mueller for his service. Mueller's five-year term ends this weekend and he turns 75 in December, the normal retirement age for bishops.

VATICAN CITY (AP, JULY 01, 2017) — Pope Francis on Saturday pushed out the Vatican's conservative doctrine chief, tapping a deputy instead to lead the powerful congregation that handles sex abuse cases and guarantees Catholic orthodoxy around the world.

Francis and German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller had clashed, most recently over the pope's cautious opening to letting civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion. Mueller had insisted they cannot, given church teaching on the indissolubility of marriage.

In a short statement, the Vatican said Francis had thanked Mueller for his service. Mueller's five-year term ends this weekend and he turns 70 in December. The normal retirement age for bishops is 75.

Francis could have kept him on, but declined to do so. The Jesuit pope instead tapped the No. 2 in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Jesuit Monsignor Luis Ladaria Ferrer, to succeed Mueller.

Francis' refusal to renew Mueller's mandate marked his latest move to remake the Holy See's hierarchy more in his mercy-over-morals likeness, following earlier moves to replace hard-line conservatives in the Vatican high court and office responsible for the world's clergy.

It was also the second major shake-up this week, after Francis granted another Vatican hardliner, Cardinal George Pell, a leave of absence to return to his native Australia to face trial on sexual assault charges.

Mueller and Pell were two most powerful cardinals in the Vatican, after the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Their absences, coupled with Francis' earlier demotion of Cardinal Raymond Burke as the Vatican's chief justice, will likely create a power vacuum for the conservative wing in the Holy See hierarchy.

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI had tapped Mueller, his fellow German countryman, to lead the congregation in 2012. Benedict had taken a hard line against clerical sex abuse during his time as prefect of the congregation himself, and later as pope, defrocking hundreds of priests accused of raping and molesting children.

It was also Benedict who insisted that bishops around the world send all cases of credibly accused priests to the congregation for processing, since bishops had for decades moved pedophiles around from parish to parish rather than sanction or report them to police.

During Mueller's tenure, the sex abuse caseload piled up as more and more victims came forward from Latin America, Europe and beyond. Last year, Francis confirmed there was a 2,000-case backlog, and he set about naming new officials in the congregation's discipline section to process the overload.

Mueller's handling of the abuse portfolio came under fire from Marie Collins, an Irish survivor of abuse. Collins resigned from Francis' sex abuse advisory commission in March in frustration of what she said was the congregation's "unacceptable" resistance to accepting the commission's advice on how to better respond to victims.

But the greater clash between Mueller and the pope concerned Francis' divisive 2016 document on family life "The Joy of Love," in which he used strategically placed footnotes to offer a cautious opening to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion.

Church teaching holds that unless these Catholics receive an annulment, or a church decree that their first marriage was invalid, they are committing adultery and cannot receive Communion unless they abstain from sex. For a variety of reasons, such annulments often cannot be obtained.

Four conservative cardinals have led the charge attacking the pope's document as vague and confusing and publicly requesting Francis clarify it. Mueller didn't join their campaign, and in fact defended the document by insisting it in no way allows Communion for these Catholics because church tradition simply could not permit it.

But he has made clear he disagrees with Francis' suggestion that any such decisions could be arrived at in the realm of personal discernment. "A privatization of the sacramental economy would certainly not be Catholic," he argued in a 2016 speech.

Ladaria, a Spanish Jesuit, was appointed No. 2 in the congregation in 2008 by Benedict. Francis last year appointed him to lead a commission to study whether women could be deacons in the church.

This version has been corrected to show that Mueller is turning 70 in December, not 75.

Migrant Pressures Grow; Italy Presses EU Nations To Do More

Migrants wait to disembark from the Spanish ship 'Rio Segura' in the harbor of Salerno, Italy, Thursday, June 29, 2017. Over 1200 migrants, including children, were rescued while attempting to cross the Mediterranean. The European Union's foreign minister says the bloc supports Italy's stance that it can no longer handle the flood of migrants alone, and she insists other EU countries share the burden. (Ciro Fusco/ANSA via AP)

ROME (AP) — Italy's leader pressed his European Union allies Thursday to take in more migrants, saying the relentless arrival of tens of thousands of rescued migrants on Italian shores is putting his country under enormous strain. He spoke after 10,000 migrants were pulled to safety from the Mediterranean in the last few days alone.

With an election due in less than a year, political pressure is building on Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni's center-left government to push for relief from fellow EU nations. Flanked by EU national leaders and EU officials at a news conference in Berlin, Gentiloni said the growing number of arrivals "puts our welcome capability to a tough test."

Italy has already taken in hundreds of thousands of migrants in the last few years. Some estimates say 220,000 migrants could land in Italy by the end of 2017. "It's a country under pressure, and we ask the help of our European allies," Gentiloni said, when asked about a reported new Italian strategy of blocking Italy's ports to non-Italian NGO ships that pluck to safety migrants from distressed dinghies and other unseaworthy boats off the Libyan coast.

While acknowledging that European nations take part in patrols to deter smuggling in the central Mediterranean, Gentiloni said the job of caring for the migrants "remains in one country only" — Italy.

In addition to those who arrive, over 2,000 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, according to the U.N. On Sunday, Italy's anti-migrant Northern League Party teamed up with the center-right opposition forces led by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi and triumphed in several mayoral races. The Democrats, Italy's main government party, took an embarrassing drubbing in the vote.

Many Italian towns say they just can't handle hosting hundreds of migrants any more. Right-wing parties remind citizens that Italians themselves are suffering from high unemployment and a practically flat economy.

In one port alone Thursday, in Reggio Calabria, 1,066 migrants disembarked from the Save the Children rescue ship Vos Hestia. Among them were 241 unaccompanied minors. From 2015 to 2016, the number of unaccompanied minors doubled to more than 25,000, according to the Interior Ministry.

This ship's rescued migrants came from Eritrea, Bangladesh, Somalia and several sub-Saharan nations of Africa and included a four-day-old boy. Six migrants had chicken pox and some 250 showed signs of scabies, so officials set up pressurized showers.

There's also concern that if Italy, a stalwart supporter of the EU, sours on Brussels because it feels abandoned on the migrant issue, the EU's very survival itself could be compromised. "Either the Union can shake itself up, or the fear is that it can collapse definitively," said Francesco Laforgia, a lawmaker in a leftist party that split recently from the Democrats.

The idea that Gentiloni's government is mulling blocking Italy's ports to European NGO ships, which increasingly rescue migrants before EU Frontex military fleets or Italian coast guard vessels arrive, is a dramatic recognition that public patience is wearing thin.

"The situation is no long sustainable," Nicola Latorre, head of the Senate's defense commission, told the Il Messaggero daily. "Obviously saving human lives remains a priority. But it's unthinkable that Italy does it all by itself."

Earlier Thursday, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini backed Italy's stance and insisted that other EU countries share the burden of caring for migrants. But previous plans hatched in Brussels to make other EU countries take in a fixed number of migrants from Italy and Greece have failed.

Several central and eastern European EU members — including large countries like Hungary and Poland — have flat out refused to take in a quota of the asylum-seekers, many of whom are economic migrants and not refugees from war or persecution.

Frances D'Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilio

FIFA Publishes Garcia Report On 2018-2022 World Cup Bidding

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, left, gets the World Cup trophy by FIFA President Joseph Blatter, right, after the announcement of Qatar hosting the 2022 soccer World Cup in Zurich, Switzerland. The report into suspected corruption in the 2018-2022 World Cup bidding contests, involving 11 nations and won by Russia and Qatar, has been the mystery ever since American investigator Michael Garcia delivered it more than 2-1/2 years ago.

SOCHI, RUSSIA (AP, JUNE 27, 2017) — After years of intrigue about allegedly corrupt World Cup bidding, FIFA published an investigation report Tuesday that showed how voters exploited the murky system yet allowed Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

FIFA published investigator Michael Garcia's 430-page dossier less than 24 hours after Germany's biggest-selling daily Bild began reporting extracts from a leaked copy it received. The full report verified the broad conclusions of a summary of Garcia's work published by FIFA in November 2014.

A Russia bid backed by Vladimir Putin gave limited cooperation to Garcia's team which found no evidence of undue influence. Putin met six of 22 FIFA voters before the December 2010 elections. Qatar's ultimate victory over the United States tested FIFA's bid rules to the limit. The bid team used a full range of lavishly funded state and sports agencies, plus advisers who raised Garcia's suspicions.

Garcia's report was once a holy grail for FIFA critics who hoped it would be explosive and force a re-run of the World Cup hosting votes. Many believed Russian and Qatari bids must have behaved badly to persuade a FIFA executive committee lineup in 2010 that has since been widely discredited.

"Bid teams operated in an environment where a number of (voters) did not hesitate to exploit a system that in certain respects did not bind them to the same rules applicable to bid teams," Garcia wrote, noting that some FIFA officials "sought to obtain personal favors or benefits."

Some of those same FIFA officials have since been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in a widespread racketeering case that is ongoing. Garcia's team did not have the evidence-gathering powers of a criminal probe and it was clear they would be hampered even before starting a globe-trotting 2013-14 investigation.

His full report detailed how: FIFA voters refused to be interviewed; bid teams such as Russia and Spain were evasive; potential key witnesses could not be tracked down. Garcia's work also has been overtaken since he delivered it to FIFA's then ethics judge in September 2014.

A 42-page summary written by German judge Hans Joachim Eckert was published two months later and disputed by Garcia. Their public falling out prompted FIFA to pass the dossier and supporting evidence to Switzerland's attorney general for review.

The true significance of Garcia might only be seen once Swiss authorities have completed their work. It started with suspected money laundering linked to the World Cup bids and extended to other areas of FIFA business.

Around 25 investigations have been launched, the Swiss federal prosecution office said this month, using more than 170 suspect bank transactions as evidence. Swiss investigators have shared evidence in recent years with the FBI and U.S. prosecutors who have indicted or taken guilty pleas from more than 40 football and marketing officials.

Russia has repeatedly denied wrongdoing since 2010, though the report confirmed that leased computers used by Russia's bid campaign were later destroyed. Staffers' email accounts were also never retrieved from Google for Garcia's deputy who oversaw the Russia section of a nine-candidate investigation. Russia had previously banned Garcia from the country over his prosecution of a Russian arms dealer in the U.S.

Qatari organizers of the 2022 tournament have also consistently denied wrongdoing. They declined to comment Tuesday. Both World Cup host nations could claim victory though neither can be sure exactly in which direction prosecutors in Brooklyn and Bern will head next.

FIFA forced publication of the Garcia Report on a rest day at the Confederations Cup — the rehearsal tournament in Russia to test its readiness for the 2018 World Cup. "For the sake of transparency, FIFA welcomes the news that this report has now been finally published," world football's governing body said in a statement.

Garcia's team found "no evidence" Russia's bid team or Vladimir Putin, then prime minister and now president, unduly influenced FIFA voters. In helping the United States' bid, then-President Barack Obama hosted a total of three FIFA voters at the White House in two separate visits. Former President Bill Clinton was lobbying voters in Zurich until hours before they gave Qatar a 14-8 win,

"Leaders of most, if not all, 2018 and 2022 bid nations spoke directly with FIFA Executive Committee members," Garcia noted. The then-Emir of Qatar was closely tied to his gas-rich nation's bid before he lifted the World Cup trophy in Zurich on voting day.

"There was one specific incident concerning 'government involvement' with the Qatar bid that did raise concerns," Garcia wrote of the Emir hosting South America's FIFA voters who flew by private jet to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

All three voters have since been identified in a U.S. justice department indictment for taking bribes from broadcast deals.

Lawyers Prepare To Defend Travelers To US At Airports

Map locates the countries included in Trump's travel ban; 2c x 3 inches; 96.3 mm x 76 mm;

NEW YORK (AP, JUNE 27, 2017) — When the Trump administration's travel ban takes partial effect this week, immigrant-rights lawyers plan to head to the nation's major airports to make sure eligible foreigners are able to get into the country.

But attorneys say few people are likely to be affected, and they don't expect a repeat of the mass confusion that resulted earlier this year when President Donald Trump rolled out his original ban on travel from a group of mostly Muslim countries.

"Our hope is unlike the chaos that previously occurred, there will be a much smoother and much less traumatic result," said Caitlin Bellis, an attorney at Public Counsel in Los Angeles. The Department of Homeland Security hasn't offered any guidance on how this week's Supreme Court ruling on the ban will be interpreted, so attorneys are preparing for anything and will monitor airports from Los Angeles to New York in case they are needed to assist foreigners held for questioning or denied entry by customs and border agents.

Advocates have a hotline and email addresses where relatives can seek help if family members get stuck. There's also an app that routes information about troubled travelers to lawyers monitoring the airports.

On Monday, the Supreme Court said it will hold a full hearing on the ban in October, but until then, the Trump administration can bar travelers from Syria, Sudan, Iran, Yemen, Libya and Somalia if they lack a "credible claim of a bona fide relationship" with someone or some institution in the U.S.

Immigration lawyers said they believe that visas already issued to travelers from the six countries will probably still be considered valid for entry into the U.S. But for those who are seeking a visa from here on in, there are many unknowns.

Exactly what constitutes a "bona fide relationship" could become a matter of dispute, though the justices suggested that a close family member such as a spouse or a mother-in-law, a job in the U.S., a speaking invitation or enrollment at a university could qualify. Others, such as would-be tourists or some scholars, could find themselves shut out.

The partial ban is expected to take effect Thursday. When Trump's earlier, broader ban was announced in January, travelers found themselves detained for hours and in some cases sent back, prompting large demonstrations outside airports and a flurry of lawsuits.

Trina Realmuto, litigation director for the National Lawyers Guild's national immigration project, said the government's guidance on how it plans to implement the order is key. Homeland Security said the order will be carried out "professionally, with clear and sufficient public notice."

Nicky Smith, executive director of the International Rescue Committee's Seattle office, said she worries about refugee children traveling to the U.S. for medical care. "If kids can't get into the country, some of the cases that we've had over the past few months, if they had been delayed by a week, they wouldn't have made it," she said.

At Dulles Airport outside Washington, lawyers are planning to be there to assist travelers as necessary and also show customs and border agents they are watching, said Sirine Shebaya, a board member with the Dulles Justice Coalition.

She said it's too early to know whether lawyers will be needed there long term. "One of the best ways to know that is just to be there," she said.

Taxin reported from Santa Ana, California. Associated Press writers Deepti Hajela in New York and Matthew Barakat in McLean, Virginia, contributed to this report.

Mali Bishop Pledges To Make Cardinal's Ceremony Amid Scandal

BY FRANCES D'EMILIO

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2017 

Archbishop Jean Zerbo of Mali poses for a portrait in Bamako, Mali. After Pope Francis last month announced that Zerbo would become a cardinal, news reports surfaced that he and two other Mali bishops had Swiss bank accounts totaling 12 million euros ($13.5 million). Citing poor health Zerbo on Tuesday, June 27, 2017, canceled an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, but assured the Vatican he'll show up in St.Peter's Basilica for the ceremony next Wednesday, June 28.

ROME (AP) — An ailing Mali archbishop facing allegations of financial impropriety assured the Vatican on Tuesday he plans to show up at St. Peter's Basilica to be made a cardinal by Pope Francis. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Bamako Archbishop Jean Zerbo "has confirmed his presence" at the Wednesday ceremony where Zerbo and four other churchmen will be elevated to cardinal's rank.

European media have speculated that Francis might not make Zerbo cardinal following reports that he and two other Mali bishops had opened Swiss bank accounts totaling 12 million euros ($13.5 million.)

Citing poor health, Zerbo canceled an interview with The Associated Press in Rome Tuesday. Zerbo, 73, arrived in Rome on Saturday from Paris, where he had undergone medical checks following intestinal surgery some time ago in Mali, according to aides.

Another Mali bishop who reportedly was one of the alleged bank account-holders, Jean-Gabriel Diarra, declined to explain the money's origins. In an interview at the same missionaries' residence in Rome near the Vatican where Zerbo was being hosted, Diarra declared: "We have nothing to hide."

"People say that we have hidden the money of the faithful in Switzerland," said Diarra, who heads the San diocese in Mali, one of Africa's most impoverished nations. "We can give an explanation for this, but for the moment we cannot talk about it to the press before explaining it to those who are entitled," he said.

The Vatican has not commented publicly on the reports in French daily Le Monde and other lay and religious publications that Zerbo, Diarra and another Mali prelate opened the Swiss accounts starting in 2002.

The reports were published in late May, shortly after the pope announced that Zerbo would become a cardinal. "It's true that it's a scandal, but when we give the explanations you will indeed see if yes, we, the Church of Mali, stole the money or not, put the money of the poor in a bank or not, and why it was done with this money," Diarra said.

"Someone will tell you all that -- is it (the money) for me? Is it for Zerbo? Someone will say all that, but they will tell it to the authorities, not you, the press here,' the bishop said. Diarra, who said he has known Zerbo since they were seminarians together, said the money came from Catholic faithful. He declined to reveal for what purposes the money might have been designated or used.

The scandal risks eclipsing some of Archbishop Zerbo's accomplishments that surely caught the eye of Pope Francis. Muslims constitute the predominant religious majority in Mali while Christians, most of them Catholics, are a tiny minority.

In a country bloodied by Islamist extremism, Zerbo distinguished himself as a churchman working for social reconciliation — one of the pontiff's priorities. As Bamako's archbishop since 1998, he has played a role in peace negotiations.

Vatican officials, without commenting on the propriety of the Swiss accounts allegedly held by the Mali bishops, noted that it is common for the Catholic church institutions in unstable African nations to keep their funds in European banks. While many have accounts with the Vatican's own bank, they are not required to do so, the officials stressed.

Mali's president has lent his support to Zerbo. Analysts in Mali say there has been little political will to pursue a possible criminal investigation. The law concerning foreign transfers of money is also murky. While permissible by foreign companies operating in Mali, it is unclear how that would apply to church funds.

In Mali, there were mixed sentiments about the scandal swirling about the man who was chosen to be the country's first cardinal. "I met Zerbo a few years ago in Mopti," said Philippe Omore, a Catholic who is president of the Christian community in the northern town of Gao.

"He seemed loyal and sincere, but anything is possible in life. Ever since we heard this news, we pray every day to have all the truth about this story," Omore told the AP in Mali. Echoing Pope Francis' insistence that the church must clean up its own moral house first before preaching morality to others, Omore added, "If we really follow Christ, we must stop the financial scandals."

AP writer Baba Ahmed in Bamako, Mali contributed to this report.

Frances D'Emilio is on twitter at www.twitter.com/fdemilio.

The Latest: Ukraine Security Expert Fears For 'Whole World'

A.P. Moller-Maersk containers on a ship in the Panama Canal. Hackers Tuesday June 27, 2017 caused widespread disruption across Europe, hitting Ukraine especially hard. Russia’s Rosneft energy company also reported falling victim to hacking, as did shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, which said every branch of its business was affected. (Thomas Borberg/Polfoto via AP,file)

NEW YORK (AP, JUNE 27, 2017) — The Latest on a widespread cyberattack that is affecting companies and government systems (all times local): 3 p.m. The head of a top Ukranian cybersecurity firm says it's too early to say if his country was singled out as the prime target but that its institutions, long a target of Russian hackers, may have been compromised through attrition.

Victor Zhora, CEO of Infosafe IT in Kiev, says he believes the ransomware, which attacks Microsoft operating systems from Windows XP to Windows 10, was previously seeded and time-activated. "It seems the virus is spreading all over Europe and I'm afraid it can harm the whole world," he said. Zhora's firm did triage on a well-coordinated attack blamed on pro-Russian hackers that tried to thwart the country's May 2014 election.

Zhora said the current ransomware, which propagates across networks, demands $300 in Bitcoin. He says it's too early for official confirmation of the targets in Ukraine but local media are reporting ATMs and some gasoline distribution to filling stations have been affected.

Cyberattacks blamed on pro-Russia hackers have twice taken down sizeable portions of Ukraine's power grid.

2:30 p.m.

Security experts say Tuesday's cyberattack shares something in common with last month's WannaCry attack: Both spread by using digital break-in tools purportedly created by the U.S. National Security Agency and recently leaked to the web.

Security vendors Bitdefender Labs and Kaspersky Labs say the NSA exploit, known as EternalBlue, is allowing the malware to spread inside an organization's network. Other than that, the latest malware is different from WannaCry.

Organizations should be protected if they had installed a fix that Microsoft issued in March.

But Chris Wysopal, chief technology officer at the security firm Veracode, says that's only the case if 100 percent of computers were patched. He says that if one computer gets infected, the new malware has a backup mechanism to spread to patched computers within the network as well.

Wysopal says the attack seems to be hitting large industrial companies that "typically have a hard time patching all of their machines because so many systems simply cannot have down time."

Organizations hit include the Russian oil company Rosneft and the Danish oil and shipping company AP Moller-Maersk.

2:15 p.m.

A hospital and health care system based in western Pennsylvania says it is dealing with a widespread cyberattack.

A spokeswoman for Heritage Valley Health System says the attack Tuesday is affecting the organization's entire health system and employees are working to ensure safe patient care continues.

Heritage Valley is a $480 million network that provides care for residents of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties, in Pennsylvania; parts of eastern Ohio; and the panhandle of West Virginia.

It wasn't immediately clear if the cyberattack was related to the outbreak of malicious data-scrambling software that appears to be causing mass disruption across Europe Tuesday.

Also affected is New Jersey-based Merck, the second-largest drugmaker in the United States with extensive operations in the Philadelphia area.

Merck confirmed its computer network was "compromised" as part of the global attack.

(Previously datelined KIEV, Ukraine)

7:10 p.m.

The second-largest drugmaker in the United States is confirming it's been affected by a cyberattack.

In a message sent using its verified Twitter account, Merck confirmed Tuesday that its computer network was "compromised" as part of a global attack.

Officials said the Kenilworth, New Jersey-based company was investigating the incident but provided no further details.

Merck has global locations including in Ukraine, where a new and highly virulent outbreak of malicious data-scrambling software causing mass disruption across Europe appeared to be hitting especially hard.

Company and government officials reported serious intrusions at the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices, where one senior official posted a photo of a darkened computer screen and the words, "the whole network is down."

Dutch-based transport company TNT Express, which was taken over last year by FedEx, also said Tuesday that it is suffering computer disruptions. Spokesman Cyrille Gibot says that "like many other companies and institutions around the world, we are experiencing interference with some of our systems within the TNT network. We are assessing the situation and are implementing remediation steps as quickly as possible and we regret any inconvenience to our customers." He declined further comment.

5:45 p.m.

Ukraine's prime minister says that a cyberattack affecting his country is "unprecedented," but "vital systems haven't been affected."

A new and highly virulent outbreak of malicious data-scrambling software appears to be causing mass disruption across Europe, hitting Ukraine especially hard.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman also said on Facebook that "our IT experts are doing their job and protecting critical infrastructure ... The attack will be repelled and the perpetrators will be tracked down."

Company and government officials reported serious intrusions at the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices, where one senior official posted a photo of a darkened computer screen and the words, "the whole network is down." Russia's Rosneft oil company also reported falling victim to hacking, as did Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk.

4:35 p.m.

Hackers have caused widespread disruption across Europe, hitting Ukraine especially hard.

Company and government officials reported major disruption to the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices. Russia's Rosneft energy company also reported falling victim to hacking, as did shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, which said every branch of its business was affected.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko on Tuesday posted a picture of a darkened computer screen to Twitter, saying that the computer system at the government's headquarters has been shut down.

There's very little information about who might be behind the disruption, but technology experts who examined screenshots circulating on social media said it bears the hallmarks of ransomware, the name given to programs that hold data hostage by scrambling it until a payment is made

Hackers Have Caused Widespread Disruption Across Europe, Hitting Ukraine Especially Bad

A flag files over the headquarters of shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk in Copenhagen, Denmark. Hackers Tuesday June 27, 2017 caused widespread disruption across Europe, hitting Ukraine especially hard. Russia’s Rosneft energy company also reported falling victim to hacking, as did shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, which said every branch of its business was affected. (Jens Dresling/AP via Ritzau, File)

KIEV, UKRAINE (AP, JUNE 27, 2017) — The Latest on a widespread cyber attack that is affecting companies and government systems (all times local): 7:10 p.m. The second-largest drugmaker in the United States is confirming it's been affected by a cyber attack.

In a message sent using its verified Twitter account, Merck confirmed Tuesday that its computer network was "compromised" as part of a global attack. Officials said the Kenilworth, New Jersey-based company was investigating the incident but provided no further details.

Merck has global locations including in Ukraine, where a new and highly virulent outbreak of malicious data-scrambling software causing mass disruption across Europe appeared to be hitting especially hard.

Company and government officials reported serious intrusions at the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices, where one senior official posted a photo of a darkened computer screen and the words, "the whole network is down."

Dutch-based transport company TNT Express, which was taken over last year by FedEx, also said Tuesday that it is suffering computer disruptions. Spokesman Cyrille Gibot says that "like many other companies and institutions around the world, we are experiencing interference with some of our systems within the TNT network. We are assessing the situation and are implementing remediation steps as quickly as possible and we regret any inconvenience to our customers." He declined further comment.

5:45 p.m.

Ukraine's prime minister says that a cyberattack affecting his country is "unprecedented," but "vital systems haven't been affected."

A new and highly virulent outbreak of malicious data-scrambling software appears to be causing mass disruption across Europe, hitting Ukraine especially hard.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman also said on Facebook that "our IT experts are doing their job and protecting critical infrastructure ... The attack will be repelled and the perpetrators will be tracked down."

Company and government officials reported serious intrusions at the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices, where one senior official posted a photo of a darkened computer screen and the words, "the whole network is down." Russia's Rosneft oil company also reported falling victim to hacking, as did Danish shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk.

4:35 p.m.

Hackers have caused widespread disruption across Europe, hitting Ukraine especially hard.

Company and government officials reported major disruption to the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices. Russia's Rosneft energy company also reported falling victim to hacking, as did shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, which said every branch of its business was affected.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko on Tuesday posted a picture of a darkened computer screen to Twitter, saying that the computer system at the government's headquarters has been shut down.

There's very little information about who might be behind the disruption, but technology experts who examined screenshots circulating on social media said it bears the hallmarks of ransomware, the name given to programs that hold data hostage by scrambling it until a payment is made.

World Food Prize Goes To African Development Bank President

BY DAVID PITT

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JUNE 26, 2017

This undated photo provided by The World Food Prize Foundation shows Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank. (AP)

DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) - The son of a Nigerian farm laborer who rose out of poverty to earn graduate degrees in agricultural economics and spent his career improving the availability of seed, fertilizer and financing for African farmers is the winner of this year's World Food Prize announced Monday.

Akinwumi Adesina, president of African Development Bank, says the future of global food security relies on making farming in Africa a profitable business and developing local food processing that adds value to agricultural products to help move farmers out of poverty.

"I believe that what Africa does with agriculture and how it does it is not only important for Africa but it's important for how we're going to feed the world by 2050 because 65 percent of all the uncultivated arable land left in the world is in Africa," he said. "To help Africa get it right in agriculture is also going to be a key part of securing food for the world."

World Food Prize President Kenneth Quinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia, said those goals are one reason the organization's board chose Adesina this year for the $250,000 prize.

An official announcement for the World Food Prize was expected to come in a ceremony Monday at the U.S. Department of Agriculture with USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue hosting the event. Adesina will receive the prize in a ceremony Oct. 19 at the Iowa Capitol.

The World Food Prize was created by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug in 1986 to recognize scientists and others who have improved the quality and availability of food. The foundation that awards the prize is based in Des Moines, Iowa.

The award recognizes several of Adesina's accomplishments including:

-Negotiating a partnership between commercial banks and development organizations to provide loans to tens of thousands of farmers and agribusinesses in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana and Mozambique.

- Creating programs to make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production and to help cassava become a major cash crop while serving as Nigeria's minister of agriculture from 2011 to 2015.

-Helping to end more than 40 years of corruption in the fertilizer and seed sectors in Nigeria by launching an electronic wallet system that directly provides farmers with vouchers redeemable for inputs using mobile phones. The resulting increased farm yields have led to the improvement of food security for 40 million people in rural farm households.

Adesina said it's vitally important to show young people in rural regions of Africa that farming can be profitable and can improve their lives as a way to stem terrorist recruitment efforts. He said high unemployment among young people, high or extreme poverty, and climate and environmental degradation all contribute to conditions in which terrorists thrive. He said these factors make up "the disaster triangle."

"Anywhere you find those you find terrorists operating. It never fails," he said.

Adesina grew up in poverty in a rural area of Nigeria and said his father and grandfather walked fields as laborers. After his father was chosen for a government job, Adesina was able to go to college. He earned agriculture economics degrees - both a master's and a doctorate - from Purdue University.

As a student, he said he saw that classmates were able to attend school when agriculture afforded them the opportunity, but they dropped out when it didn't. He said from that experience he learned making agriculture profitable so families can provide their children with an education was a key to breaking the cycle of poverty.

He said he often thinks of the hundreds of millions of young, rural African people whose opportunities are limited because of what is happening with agriculture.

"So in a way for me this is not a job," Adesina said. "This is a mission. And I believe that in getting agriculture to be a business - turning our rural areas from zones of economic misery to zones of economic opportunity - therein lies the future of Africa's youth, especially those rural youths."

___

Follow David Pitt on Twitter at https://twitter.com/davepitt