LONDON (AP) — Booker Prize winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart are in the running again for the prestigious fiction award, alongside Dublin gangs, dystopian science fiction and the New England characters of Pulitzer Prize laureate Elizabeth Strout.

Judges read 163 novels to come up with the 13 semifinalists announced Tuesday for the 50,000 pound ($66,000) Booker Prize, a list described by historian Mary Beard, head of the judging panel, as literary “dynamite.”

The list includes James’ “The Disappearers,” about a group of gay men in a hostile 1980s Jamaica; Stuart’s “ John of John,” a story of father-son secrets on a remote Scottish island; and Strout’s heartfelt small-town tale “The Things We Never Say.”

James won the Booker in 2015 for “A Brief History of Seven Killings” and Stuart won in 2020 for “Shuggie Bain.” Strout’s “Oh William!” was a finalist in 2022. She won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2009 for “Olive Kitteridge.”

They sit alongside lesser-known names on a Booker longlist that includes authors with roots in Britain, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey and the United States.

Three of those on the list are debut authors: Turkish-American writer Kenan Orhan for family history story “The Renovation,” British author Rebecca Perry for Medieval-to-modern tale “May We Feed the King” and Ireland’s Djamel White for “All Them Dogs,” a thriller set in the Dublin underworld.

White, at 28, is the youngest author in the running. The oldest is 81-year-old M. John Harrison, whose postapocalyptic tale “The End of Everything” is a rare science fiction novel to make the Booker list.

The other contenders are “The Shadow of the Object” by Chloe Aridjis, “Black Bag” by Luke Kennard, “The Vivisectors” by Missouri Williams, “Switzy” by Emma Cline, “Helen of Nowhere” by Makenna Goodman and Gwendoline Riley’s “The Palm House.”

Beard said the five jurors, who include Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker and American novelist Patricia Lockwood, tried to look beyond the idea of a typical Booker winner – “slightly serious, about to be classic.” Instead they chose novels that are “trying to expand the boundaries of how we can think about ourselves in completely different ways,”

“Sometimes they’re using humor, sometimes it’s pathos, sometimes there’s shock value,” Beard said. “They’re risk-takers. They are dynamite. They say ‘Come on, try seeing it a different way.’”

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers and is open to novels from any country published in the U.K. and Ireland. Last year’s winner was “Flesh” by Hungarian-British writer David Szalay.

The judges will announce six finalists on Sept. 22, and the winner will be revealed Nov. 9 at a ceremony in London.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Iraq’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, arrived in Turkey on Tuesday for talks that were expected to include the construction of a pipeline to Turkey aimed at reducing the exposure of Iraq’s oil exports to tensions in the Gulf region.

Al-Zaidi’s meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials will also focus on security, trade, energy, transportation and water management, Turkish officials said. The Iraqi prime minister’s office said they will discuss “joint infrastructure projects in a way that serves the interests of the two neighboring countries.”

Al-Zaidi, who emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of deadlock over the premiership following last year’s parliamentary elections, is visiting Ankara on the heel of trips to Washington and Tehran.

Following al-Zaidi’s talks with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, U.S. companies signed roughly $60 billion in agreements and partnerships with the Iraqi government, including deals intended to create alternative routes for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf.

One project under consideration is a pipeline that would connect southern Iraq’s Basra to western Iraq’s Haditha and from there to the Ceyhan port in Turkey and the port of Baniyas on Syria’s coast.

Turkey tries to end conflict with Iraq-based militant group

The visit comes as Turkey is engaged in talks to end a decades-long conflict with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, whose fighters are largely based in northern Iraq. Last year, the PKK announced it was laying down arms and disbanding as part of the efforts.

Turkey is scheduled to enact legislation to help advance the peace effort, which is expected to include a limited amnesty that could allow some militants’ return to Turkey.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. It’s designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Iraqi PM will visit Saudi Arabia next

Al-Zaidi is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, at a time of heightened tensions after the kingdom alleged that Iran-backed Iraqi militias launched drone attacks against it.

Al-Zaidi has pledged to disarm non-state armed groups in Iraq by the end of September, a deadline that is likely challenging to meet, particularly since some of the most powerful militias have said they will not lay down their weapons.

On Monday, al-Zaidi ordered security agencies to investigate the alleged drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Iraqi military said in a statement, adding that Iraq is committed to “preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a route or launching point for any attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries.”

The militias have denied any role in the attack. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups, in a statement called the Saudi accusations “fabrications” and an “attempt to justify their inability to respond to the painful Yemeni strikes that have targeted the heart of their infrastructure,” implying that the attacks were carried out by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The militias added that “any foolish Saudi action will be met with a harsh response that will leave them biting their fingers in regret.”

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A cycling-enthusiast governor rode into an unexpected political storm in Turkey when he found himself sacked after photos showing him in snug cycling shorts went viral. He has since also become the center of a campaign pressing for his return to office amid an outpouring of affection.

Mehmet Fatih Cicekli, the governor of Ardahan province in eastern Turkey, was removed from his post on July 17 by a presidential decree signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While no reason was given for his dismissal, it came after some Turkish politicians criticized him for wearing cycling tights during a public event promoting the sport and for posting the photos on social media.

Inan Akgun Alp, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, accused Cicekli of allegedly prioritizing social media over official duties, adding the tight attire was inappropriate for a governor.

“He goes around in tights, spends all day cycling, with bodyguards in front of him, cycling in tights until the evening,” the T-24 news website quoted Alp as saying during a parliamentary debate last week. “A governor cannot wander around the city center like this.”

Samil Tayyar, a former legislator from Erdogan’s ruling party, which has roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement, said the attire was contrary to cultural norms, especially in a conservative, traditional province like Ardahan. He argued that other politicians wore sweatpants while cycling.

“People can wear whatever they want in their private lives, but a governor cannot visit the public in tights while on duty; it does not align with the seriousness of the state. In a traditional social setting like Ardahan, it is completely unacceptable,” Tayyar wrote on X.

Cicek, who was appointed governor in January by Erdogan, defended himself by arguing that what he wore was normal cycling attire.

“(We will) keep pedaling. I am an athlete who practices sailing, rowing and cycling. The clothes I’m wearing are sportswear,” T-24 quoted him as saying.

A petition campaign to try and get him reinstated has gathered more than 10,000 signatures, with supporters arguing that the governor was engaged in important work in Ardahan, promoting sports, youth activities and bicycle tourism, the opposition-leaning Halk TV reported.

In an emotional farewell to his supporters in Ardahan on Wednesday, Cicek said: “I believe that I have not let down those who vouched for me and stood by me throughout my journey until now. I believe that this is the greatest honor of all.”

As he left Ardahan, a province that borders both Armenia and Georgia, local cyclists accompanied his vehicle to send him off as a show of support, Halk TV reported.

Nacho Sánchez Amor, a member of the European Parliament from Spain who serves as the rapporteur on Turkey, expressed support for Cicekli and suggested Alp was promoting the ruling party’s “Islamist conservative agenda.”

Germany has deported a Uyghur man to China where there are concerns he could be detained as a member of an ethnic group that has been targeted by the Chinese government, his mother told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Arafat Adil, 21, a dual Chinese-Turkish national who has lived in Turkey with his family since they moved there from China in 2017 and who was seeking asylum in Germany, was deported from the Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday, said his mother, Guzelay Adil.

Arafat Adil landed Wednesday morning in Beijing where he was taken into custody and interrogated, Guzelay Adil said. She said she was hoping her son would be allowed to board a flight to Istanbul around midnight on Thursday. “I don’t know what would happen if my son doesn’t return to Turkey,” Guzelay Adil said from Istanbul in an interview. “I hope to see my child again.”

Authorities in Germany and China did not immediately confirm Arafat Adil’s deportation.

Word of the deportation raised concerns among Uyghur rights activists due to China’s yearslong campaign of assimilation in Xinjiang, its far western region that is home to over 11 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. In 2017, Beijing began a campaign of mass detention and alleged forced labor in the region, which was the site of sporadic episodes of unrest over the past few decades.

“It’s heartbreaking to learn of another Uyghur being deported to China,” said Abduweli Ayup, founder of the Norway-based nonprofit Uyghur Hjelp. He added that the “bad example” set by Germany as a leading member of the European Union is causing Uyghurs to lose hope “inside and outside of China.”

The Interior Ministry of the State of Hesse, where Frankfurt is located, did not immediately reply to an email from the AP requesting details about the deportation.

The German Interior Ministry said that in general there’s no suspension of deportations for Uyghurs to China but added that “however, the current guiding principle of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees provides that, as a rule, protection should be granted to Uyghurs in cases involving China as the country of origin.”

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the case.

Arafat Adil’s family moved to Turkey in 2017, where he later obtained a Turkish passport in 2024, his mother said. She expressed confusion as to Germany’s decision to deport Arafat Adil to China instead of Turkey, as she said he held passports from both countries.

It was unclear on what grounds Arafat Adil was claiming asylum in Germany, which considers Turkey a safe country of origin.

Last November, Germany deported a Uyghur woman to China instead of Turkey after what government sources described to Der Spiegel magazine as a bureaucratic mix-up. The woman, Reziwanguli Baikeli, was only in Beijing for a short time before leaving for Turkey.

China has been pressuring other countries to deport Uyghurs who fled the country amid the detention campaign. In one of the most high-profile deportations to date, Thailand in February 2025 deported at least 40 Uyghurs to China.

___

AP writer Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump will be returning to an older Air Force One plane for about a month as the new, Qatari-gifted jet undergoes “additional upgrades and enhancements.”

Trump’s use of the new red, white and navy blue aircraft has faced much scrutiny not only because it was gifted by a foreign government, but also because it appears to not be equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets.

But it came under deeper scrutiny this month when he left the NATO summit in Turkey on the older, baby blue Air Force One and made a previously unscheduled stop at a base in the United Kingdom. Trump then swapped back onto the new Qatari-gifted plane at Royal Air Force Mildenhall.

“The new Air Force One is perfectly safe for the President’s travels, but will receive additional upgrades and enhancements in the fall which will take approximately one month to complete,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday. “During that time, the President will fly on the old Air Force One.”

The statement from Leavitt elaborated on a comment from the president as he returned to Washington on Sunday night, when he told reporters that the new plane will be sent to be “maxed out.”

Trump claimed earlier this month that the stop in the United Kingdom was so U.S. troops at Mildenhall could look at the new plane. He denied to reporters that the jet switch was due to security concerns, although he also said that he has a threat against him “all the time” and is Iran’s “No. 1” target.

NEW YORK (AP) — Reza Zarrab, a businessman who admitted conspiring with a Turkish bank to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions by trading its oil for gold will not spend any more time behind bars in a case that strained relations between the U.S. and Turkey.

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said at a hearing Tuesday he plans to sentence Zarrab to time already served. Prosecutors credited Zarrab with providing “truthful, complete and reliable” assistance to American investigators, including testifying that he paid millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Turkey to facilitate the sanctions-busting scheme.

Zarrab pleaded guilty in 2017 to conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering. Before deciding to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors in New York, he had faced the possibility of decades in prison.

Zarrab’s sentencing ends an operatic legal saga that generated diplomatic tension between the U.S. and Turkey and was closely watched by the Turkish public.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, publicly disparaged the corruption allegations as a U.S. plot to “blackmail” Turkey, and lobbied the administrations of three U.S. presidents to halt the case.

Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, both Democrats, declined to intervene. President Donald Trump — who has had a warm relationship with Erdogan — allowed the case to go forward in his first term. But this year, Trump’s Justice Department dropped its longtime effort to prosecute Halkbank, a state-run institution indicted in 2019 on charges that it helped Iran move $20 billion in sanctioned oil revenue.

Zarrab, who was born in Iran but was moved to Turkey with his family as a toddler, was initially arrested in 2013 as part of a sweeping anticorruption probe overseen by Turkish law enforcement officials — but he was quickly freed. Many of the police officers involved in the investigation were then purged from their jobs after Erdogan claimed it was a foreign plot orchestrated by the U.S. government.

Three years later, Zarrab was arrested in Miami after flying to the U.S. with his wife at the time, Turkish pop singer and TV personality Ebru Gundes, and their then-4-year-old daughter for a trip to Disney World.

Before he became a cooperator for the U.S. government, Zarrab hired former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey to seek a diplomatic solution to the case. Erdogan publicly demanded Zarrab’s release.

Then, in 2017, came a twist: Zarrab secretly pleaded guilty to the charges, then appeared as a surprise witness at the U.S. trial of Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla.

Zarrab testified he paid millions of dollars in bribes to government and banking officials in Turkey to help Iranians and their government evade U.S. sanctions. And he said that Erdogan, while he was Turkey’s prime minister in 2012, had given approval for two Turkish banks to participate in sham gold trades to enable Iran to get access to oil and gas revenue.

Atilla, who maintained that he was innocent, was convicted and sentenced to 32 months in prison. At the time, Erdogan called the verdict “scandalous.”

Zarrab was released from jail following the trial after saying he had been accosted by a knife-wielding inmate who threatened to kill him for cooperating with U.S. authorities.

In a pre-sentence memorandum submitted on Zarrab’s behalf, his lawyers said his life had changed dramatically since the trial. He got divorced from Gundes in 2021 and married a former Turkish national swimmer last year.

His attorneys said Zarrab was “destitute and heavily in debt” after his plea and cooperation, adding that his assets and his family’s assets have been seized by the Turkish government, costing his family’s businesses “many tens of millions of dollars in lost rental income.”

After his guilty plea, they added, Zarrab forfeited a $288,000 boat and $88,000 in cash to the U.S. government. He claimed he is $50 million in debt.

“Reza at long last should be allowed to rebuild his life,” his lawyers wrote. They said the prosecution and Turkey’s labeling of him as a traitor continue to haunt him, spoiling his efforts to build a horse farm in the U.S. and to appear in public without someone recognizing him and outing him on social media.