Nation and World briefs for November 5

Trump, O’Malley file for New Hampshire’s first-in-nation presidential primary

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A leading Republican and a lagging Democrat became the first major candidates Wednesday to file for New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

Celebrity businessman Donald Trump and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley were among a handful of candidates who signed up to get on the ballot as the filing period opened. Candidates have until Nov. 20 to file for the primary, which is expected to be held Feb. 9.

“Wow, this is some turnout!” Trump said as he entered the secretary of state’s office, which typically is jammed with members of the media and the public when major candidates sign up. Earlier, Trump was greeted by a large crowd of supporters outside the statehouse.

Compared with other states, it’s relatively cheap and easy to get on the ballot in New Hampshire. Candidates must meet basic requirements to be president, fill out a one-page form and pay a $1,000 filing fee.

“They wanted a cashier’s check,” Trump said. “So this is from a bank that’s not actually as rich as we are.”

US, British officials say Russian jetliner may have been brought down by a bomb

LONDON (AP) — British and U.S. officials said Wednesday they have information suggesting the Russian jetliner that crashed in the Egyptian desert may have been brought down by a bomb, and Britain said it was suspending flights to and from the Sinai Peninsula indefinitely.

Intercepted communications played a role in the tentative conclusion that the Islamic State group’s Sinai affiliate planted an explosive device on the plane, said a U.S. official briefed on the matter. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss intelligence matters publicly.

The official and others said there had been no formal judgment rendered by the CIA or other intelligence agencies, and that forensic evidence from the blast site, including the airplane’s black box, was still being analyzed.

The official added that intelligence analysts don’t believe the operation was ordered by Islamic State leaders in Raqqa, Syria. Rather, they believe that if it was a bomb, it was planned and executed by the Islamic State’s affiliate in the Sinai, which operates autonomously.

Other officials cautioned that intercepted communications can sometimes be misleading and that it’s possible the evidence will add up to a conclusion that there was no bomb.

Justin Trudeau sworn in as Canadian prime minister, promising ‘government by Cabinet’

TORONTO (AP) — Justin Trudeau was sworn in Wednesday as Canada’s new Liberal prime minister, promising a less controlling style of “government by Cabinet” after almost 10 years of Conservative rule under Stephen Harper.

The 43-year-old Trudeau, a former school teacher and member of Parliament since 2008, became the second youngest prime minister in Canadian history.

“Government by Cabinet is back,” Trudeau said, vowing to have an open and transparent government. Power in Harper’s government was centered around his office.

The new leader is the son of the late Pierre Trudeau, who served as prime minister from 1968 to 1984 with a short interruption and remains one of the few Canadian politicians known in other countries.

Justin Trudeau mouthed “I love you” to his young family and his mother after being sworn in.

As stabbing attacks reach Israeli heartland, ignoring conflict becomes much harder

RISHON LEZION, Israel (AP) — Twenty-four-year-old shopkeeper Darya Zelenkov was working her shift in a downtown clothing shop in this central Israeli city when she was startled by a knife-wielding Palestinian trying to burst in. The quick-thinking saleswoman quickly slammed the glass door in his face.

“I looked him straight in the eye. He had this lost look about him,” said Zelenkov. “Until yesterday I thought all the troubles were ‘there.’ I thought it had nothing to do with me.”

After years of relative quiet in major Israeli cities, a seven-week burst of violence has brought the Palestinian issue to the country’s heartland and pushed the long-festering conflict back to the forefront of the national agenda. Disillusioned by years of failed negotiations and a controversial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, most Israelis appear to want to create more distance and separation from their Palestinian neighbors rather than revive peace talks.

Ami Ayalon, a former head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service and current fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, said despite the fear and anger, the unrest is having some unexpected results. He cited a recent poll showing more than three-quarters of Israelis ready to hand over Arab-majority neighborhoods of Jerusalem to a future Palestine, in contrast to the government position that the city must remain unified.

“People only get it when things are very sad,” Ayalon said. “You can’t ignore the situation. People are ready to give up a lot just to make it stop.”

On embassy anniversary, Iran maintains negative attitude toward US despite nuclear deal

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As Iran marks the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, there are signs that the Islamic Republic’s attitude toward the United States is as negative as ever.

The arrests of U.S. citizens, hints of a Cold War-style prisoner swap, fears of Western infiltration and even the shutdown of a lookalike KFC restaurant show the suspicion still held by hard-liners after the nuclear deal with world powers.

In the short term, things may even get worse, analysts say, as Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to warn about American influence, a crucial parliamentary election approaches and the country’s intelligence and military services try to hold onto their economic and political power.

“I think many Americans and many Iranians didn’t take the leader at his word that this does not mean detente, that this is a one-off transaction. I think the system was deadly serious about this,” said Cliff Kupchan, the chairman of the Eurasia Group. “I think the increased contact will lead to detente with the U.S., but we have a lot of harsh repression to go through before we get there.”

On Wednesday, thousands demonstrated in front of the old U.S. Embassy, marking the 36th anniversary of students seizing 52 Americans hostage there after Washington refused to hand over the toppled U.S.-backed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The protest came despite the deal that will see Tehran limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Warning signs aplenty for Democrats and Republicans in this week’s elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — State and local elections across the country this week produced warning signs for both Democrats and Republicans as they press toward the 2016 presidential contest, now just a year away.

Democrats lost more ground in legislatures and governor’s mansions, raising questions about the party’s strength when President Barack Obama’s name isn’t at the top of the ballot. Democrats still have important demographic advantages in the states that often determine presidential elections, but the party is struggling in power centers outside Washington that influence policy and steer congressional redistricting.

The GOP is casting its victory in the Kentucky gubernatorial race as a blueprint for how Republicans can run successfully against Obama’s signature health care law.

But the elections weren’t all good news for the Republicans. For party leaders anxious about Donald Trump and Ben Carson’s lead in the GOP presidential primary, the win in Kentucky for Matt Bevin — a wealthy businessman who has never held political office — could be a sign that many voters are serious about electing outsider candidates.

Party leaders are skeptical that outsiders’ rebellious appeal will be sufficiently deep and lasting to send such a candidate to the White House.

NATO’s biggest war games in 12 years test its abilities, send signal it’s ready to act

ZARAGOZA, Spain (AP) — NATO is putting on its most fearsome display of military might in over a decade, a choreographed large-scale movement of soldiers, ships and planes meant to hone its capabilities as well as transmit an unmistakable signal to Russia and other possible foes.

The U.S.-led alliance’s aim is to train and exercise, but it is also “sending a very clear message to our nations and to any potential adversary,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference Wednesday.

“NATO does not seek confrontation,” Stoltenberg said. “But we stand ready to defend all allies.”

For three weeks starting Oct. 21, more than 36,000 personnel from all 28 NATO allies and eight partner nations, as well as more than 160 aircraft and 60 warships, are taking part in exercises across a broad swath of southern Europe stretching from Portugal to Italy.

The No. 1 objective of the maneuvers, code-named Trident Juncture, is to ensure NATO’s beefed-up Response Force is up to the job, and that the United States and its allies can respond promptly and in unison to a crisis.

Amid widening VW scandal, a stock sell-off, a credit downgrade and a halt to some car sales

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The fallout from Volkswagen’s emissions-cheating scandal intensified Wednesday, as investors bailed out and European regulators pressured VW to quickly disclose the findings of an internal investigation. In the U.S., the company halted sales of seven models that allegedly were part of the cheating.

On Tuesday, VW admitted that it had understated the carbon dioxide emissions for 800,000 cars, widening the scope of a scandal that has forced the ouster of a CEO and prompted investigations and lawsuits on several continents.

The company has been unable halt the flow of bad news since mid-September, when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Volkswagen had installed software on 482,000 cars that enabled them to cheat on emissions tests for nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that contributes to smog and respiratory problems. The software reduced emissions when the car was on a test stand.

Volkswagen acknowledged that 11 million vehicles with small diesel engines worldwide have the software — but only after denying its use for more than a year.

On Monday, the EPA charged that Volkswagen also used cheating software in some cars with larger diesel engines, including Volkswagen’s elite Porsche brand. Volkswagen has denied that claim, but over the past two days halted sales in the U.S. and Canada of the models involved: the Volkswagen Touareg, Porsche Cayenne, and the Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5 and Q7.

At least 36 killed in cargo plane crash near airport in South Sudan capital

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — A cargo plane carrying an added load of unregistered people crashed Wednesday morning along the banks of the Nile River after taking off from South Sudan’s capital of Juba. The crash killed 36 people and left an infant clinging to life, South Sudan authorities said.

The Soviet-made Antonov plane, which had been bound for the Paloich oil fields in Upper Nile state, was registered in Tajikistan and belonged to Allied Services Limited, said Ateny Wek Ateny, a spokesman for South Sudanese President Salva Kiir.

Hours later, the smell of fuel permeated the crash site, 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from Juba’s international airport. Wreckage from the plane was scattered in a bushy area on banks of the Nile with a few homes nearby. Its tail and part of the fuselage remained attached but the plane’s wings, propellers and front were completely smashed.

Thirty-six people were confirmed dead in the crash, according to both South Sudan’s minister for transportation, Kuong Danhier Gatluak, and Maju Hilary of the South Sudan Red Cross. Six of the plane’s crew members — five Armenians and a Russian — were among the dead, said Tigran Mkrtchian, a spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

“We need heavy machinery to lift up to find out if there are other dead bodies under the wreckage of the plane,” Hilary said.