Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 U.S. NEWS
Monday 13 noveMber 2017

Turkey denies report of plan to kidnap cleric Gulen from U.S.

BY ZEYNEP BILGINSOY hind it. in the government’s crack-
Associated Press The Turkish Embassy in down after the failed coup.
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey has Washington reiterated de- Also behind bars in Turkey
dismissed as “utterly false, mands late Saturday for for alleged links to Gulen is
ludicrous and groundless” the United States to extra- U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson,
a report that Turkish offi- dite Gulen so he can stand who has lived in Turkey for
cials may have discussed trial. The embassy in a over 20 years. Erdogan said
paying millions of dollars to statement rejected “all al- in September the U.S. was
have a U.S.-based Muslim legations that Turkey would pressing Turkey to return a
cleric kidnapped. resort to means external to “cleric” while refusing to
The Wall Street Journal re- the rule of law” to get Gu- hand over another “cleric.”
ported Friday that Special len back on Turkish soil. The Turkish Embassy said
Counsel Robert Mueller Flynn’s lawyers also have the Turkish people find Gu-
was investigating an al- disputed the Journal report len’s continued refuge in
leged plot involving former saying Mueller was looking the U.S. “perplexing and
U.S. National Security Ad- into a meeting where Flynn deeply frustrating.”
viser Michael Flynn and his allegedly discussed a plan People stand in the street after feeling aftershocks from Complicating relations fur-
son to hand Fethullah Gu- that would pay him and his an earthquake in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. ther is the case of a Turkish-
len over to Ankara for as son “to forcibly remove” Associated Press Iranian businessman on trial
much as $15 million. Gulen. campaign, we have inten- the allegations. in the U.S. for evading U.S.
Turkey blames the cleric Flynn, a retired lieutenant tionally avoided respond- Gulen has been living in sanctions on Iran. A former
and his supporters for a July general, did lobbying work ing to every rumor or alle- the U.S. for nearly two de- Turkish economy minis-
2016 military coup attempt for Turkey last year. gation,” the lawyers said in cades. He is a former ally ter and an executive of a
that killed 250 people. Gu- “Out of respect for the pro- a statement. of Turkish President Recep state-owned Turkish bank
len, who lives in Pennsylva- cess of the various investi- “But today’s news cycle Tayyip Erdogan until their have also been indicted.
nia, has denied being be- gations regarding the 2016 has brought allegations 2013 public falling-out led In a meeting last week,
about General Flynn, rang- the government to declare Turkish Prime Minister Binali
ing from kidnapping to Gulen’s network a terror Yildirim and U.S. Vice Presi-
bribery, that are so outra- group. dent Michael Pence dis-
geous and prejudicial that Nearly 50,000 people are cussed the cases among
we are making an excep- behind bars in Turkey and other sources of strain, in-
tion to our usual rule: they more than 100,000 civil ser- cluding the U.S. backing
are false,” they said. . vants have been dismissed of Syrian Kurdish militants in
Michael Flynn Jr.’s attorney from their jobs for alleged the war against the Islamic
declined to comment on links to the cleric’s network State group.q

Iranians report at least 61

dead, 300 injured from quake

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A pow- The Islamic Republic of Koulivand earlier told a lo-
erful magnitude 7.2 earth- Iran News Network quoted cal television station that
quake hit the region along the head of the country’s the earthquake knocked
the border between Iran emergency medical servic- out electricity in Iran’s west-
and Iraq on Sunday, killing es, Pirhossein Koulivand, as ern cities of Mehran and
at least 61 people and in- saying early Monday that Ilam. He also said 35 rescue
juring 300 in Iran, an Iranian at least 61 had been killed teams were providing assis-
official said. and 300 injured on Iran’s tance.
Iranian state TV said Iraqi side of the border. Iranian President Hassan
officials had reported six Iranian state TV also said Rouhani in a phone call
deaths and 200 injuries in- Iraqi officials reported at with the Interior Ministry em-
side Iraq, though there was least six people dead inside phasized the need for max-
no official comment from Iraq, along with more than imum effort from officials.
Iraq’s government. 50 people injured in Su- Iranian social media was
The U.S. Geological Survey laymaniyah province and abuzz Sunday night with
said the quake was cen- about 150 in Khanaquin posts of people evacuat-
tered 19 miles (31 kilome- city. No reports were im- ing their homes, particularly
ters) outside the eastern mediately available from in Kermanshah and Ghasr-
Iraqi city of Halabja. Iraq’s government. e Shirin.q