In brief: Russia to refocus energy efforts in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey – Amid spiraling tensions with the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Monday that Moscow is spiking a multibillion-dollar gas pipeline project for southern Europe and will focus instead on boosting its energy ties with Turkey.

Moscow will increase gas supplies to Turkey across the existing pipeline and later could build a new link and possibly work with Turkey on creating a gas hub on the border with Greece, Putin said. He argued that the EU’s opposition to the South Stream pipeline – which would have run under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further on to southern Europe – meant Russia had no other choice but to scrap it.

The announcement is part of the Kremlin’s efforts to forge new alliances as Russia-West relations have plummeted to post-Cold War lows over the Ukrainian crisis.

Iraq premier fires 24 top officials in reform effort

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi dismissed 24 senior Interior Ministry officials Monday in an effort to “reform and rebuild” security institutions in the embattled country, the government leader announced via Twitter.

The dismissals, which al-Abadi described as retirements, followed his report Sunday that an investigation of the Iraqi armed forces’ payroll had turned up 50,000 names of “ghost soldiers,” fictitious troops drawing salaries that go to senior officers, Middle East media reported.

Corruption and incompetence in the armed forces have been blamed for massive security failures since a June onslaught by the Islamic State militant group met with little resistance and left at least a third of Iraq’s territory under the extremists’ control.

Since taking office in September, al-Abadi has attempted to clean up the police and army to improve their ability to combat the Islamic State push toward Baghdad.

Mexican president’s approval ratings drop

MEXICO CITY – Two years after assuming office, and as protesting Mexicans again took to the streets Monday, President Enrique Pena Nieto has the lowest approval rating of any Mexican chief executive in nearly two decades, a new poll says.

The survey published Monday by the prominent Reforma newspaper indicated Pena Nieto’s popularity fell 11 percentage points in the last four months to an all-time low of 39 percent, with 58 percent disapproving of his administration.

Although opinion polls are notoriously unreliable in Mexico, the results seemed to jibe with a generalized air of anger in the country, fueled by the probable massacre of 43 missing college students by police and a drug gang, and a number of controversies involving possible conflicts of interest by the president and his family.