Latest News Clips 2018.05.21

                      

1.      Trump’s Failure in Jerusalem

The New York Times   The Editorial Board     May 14, 2018

A mass attempt by Palestinians to cross the border fence separating Israel from Gaza turned deadly Monday as Israeli soldiers responded with rifle fire.CreditMohammed Saber/EPA, via Shutterstock

The day the United States opened its embassy in Jerusalem is a day the world has longed for, because of what it was supposed to represent: the end of a seemingly endless conflict, a blood-soaked tragedy with justice and cruelty on both sides. Israelis and Palestinians have envisioned a capital in Jerusalem, and for generations the Americans, the honest brokers in seeking peace, withheld recognition of either side’s claims, pending a treaty that through hard compromise would resolve all competing demands.

But on Monday President Trump delivered the embassy as a gift without concession or condition to the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, and as a blow to the Palestinians. The world did not witness a new dawn of peace and security for two peoples who have dreamed of both for so long. Instead, it watched as Israeli soldiers shot and killed scores of Palestinian protesters, and wounded thousands more, along Israel’s boundary with the Gaza Strip.

Unilateral action, rather than negotiation and compromise, has served the purposes of successive right-wing Israeli governments. They have steadily expanded Jewish settlements in the West Bank, on land Palestinians expected to be part of any Palestinian state.

And even when the Israelis uprooted settlements in Gaza in 2005, they did so without negotiating an agreement that would have empowered a more moderate Palestinian government. They acted to increase Israeli security in the short term while increasing Palestinian despair and the power of militant groups like Hamas. For years, Israeli governments have insisted they have no peace partner on the other side, while behaving in a way that perpetuates that reality. The possibility of peace has continued to recede, and Israel’s democratic character has continued to erode under the pressure of a long-term occupation of millions of Palestinians who lack sovereignty of their own.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly promised a grand peace plan without delivering, and he has now lent America’s weight to this maximalist Israeli strategy. For decades, the United States prided itself on mediating between Israel and the Palestinians. Successive administrations urged a peace formula in which the two parties would negotiate core issues — establishing boundaries between the two states; protecting Israel’s security; deciding how to deal with refugees who fled or were driven away after Israeli statehood in 1948; and deciding the future of Jerusalem, which was expected to become the shared capital of Israelis and Palestinians.

Mr. Trump’s announcement that he was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and moving the embassy from Tel Aviv, swept aside 70 years of American neutrality.

2.      Harry and Meghan: fusing the traditional and the contemporary

To her entrance alone, the lack of ‘obey’ and inclusion of soul and gospel favourites, the royal couple have created a service personal to themselves

The Guardian   19 May 2018 

 

She will enter alone and exit a fully fledged royal. As a tumultuous week culminates at the altar for Meghan Markle, she will walk up the historic nave of St George’s Chapel, Windsor, accompanied by 10 bridesmaids and pageboys. Only once she reaches the quire will she take the final few steps, accompanied not by her father but by her future father-in-law.

Last-minute adjustments to Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry now mean that the father of the groom, Prince Charles, will, unusually, give away his future daughter-in-law to his own son.

The changes, made after her father, Thomas Markle Sr, pulled out due to ill health, were too late for the official Order of Service for guests. These had already been printed with his name. He will be thousands of miles away in Mexico as his daughter pledges her love to the sixth-in-line to the British throne before 600 guests and a global TV audience of many millions.

She will not promise to obey, and the groom will wear a wedding ring. The couple have sought to fuse the traditional and the contemporary in their choices, which will see the soul classic Stand by Me, and the African-American church favourite This Little Light of Mine, performed by a gospel choir, as well as the rousing Welsh rugby anthem Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer, also known as Bread of Heaven.

In keeping with tradition, she and Harry were spending the night before their nuptials apart. The bride was staying with her mother, Doria Ragland, 61, at the Cliveden House Hotel, near Taplow. Arriving at her hotel, she smiled for photographers. Asked how she was feeling, Markle replied: “Wonderful, thank you”. The groom and best man, Prince William, were at the Coworth Park Hotel in Ascot. Before retiring to their hotel, the princes spent some time meeting an enthusiastic cheering crowd outside Windsor Castle in the early evening sunshine.

Earlier, Harry and Markle left their Kensington Palace home for the last time as an unmarried couple and headed to Windsor Castle for afternoon tea with the Queen. Ragland, a yoga teacher and social worker who flew in on Wednesday, was introduced to the monarch for the first time.

Alarm clocks were being set on both sides of the Atlantic. A 100,000 crowd is expected to turn out to line the route in Windsor, which the couple will travel by horse and carriage, and people have been warned to set off early because of train queues, road closures and security checks before the noon service. On Markle’s native US west coast, the service begins at 4am Pacific Daylight Time.

The couple have chosen the marriage service from Common Worship (2000), so modern words will be used rather than “thee” or “thou”. Using their full names, Henry Charles Albert David and Rachel Meghan, they will pledge themselves “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part”.

Lady Jane Fellowes, the sister of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, will deliver a reading from the Song of Solomon, stressing the strength and power of love.

Kensington Palace said the couple had thought carefully about the music and hymns, which includes English Baroque composer William Boyce’s Symphony no 1 in B flat major. They turned to Charles for advice on orchestral choices to be played before the service, which will include Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves and Elgar’s Chanson de Matin. The National Anthem will be played at the end.

Confirmation of Charles’s enhanced role in the service was announced in a statement which read: “Ms Meghan Markle has asked His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to accompany her down the aisle of the Quire of St George’s Chapel on her wedding day. The Prince of Wales is pleased to be able to welcome Ms Markle to the Royal Family in this way.”

Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Philip, 96, who has been recuperating following a hip operation, would be attending.

Markle Sr, 73, a retired TV lighting director, reportedly underwent a heart procedure on Wednesday. The will-he-wont-he drama over whether he would attend the wedding dominated the headlines until it was confirmed on Thursday that he would not be present. Markle was understood to be disappointed and concerned for his wellbeing, but determined that his absence would not impact on the enjoyment of her wedding day.

As die-hard fans camped out near the castle, buckets of flowers and foliage were being transported inside the 15th-century chapel on Friday. Floral designer Philippa Craddock’s brief was “seasonal, sustainable and locally sourced”. The church will be filled with beech, birch and hornbeam, as well as wild flowers, white roses, peonies and foxgloves.

The town’s streets were crowded and its hotels full as a huge international media presence descended to set up camp. A large security operation saw police manning barricades outside the castle, sniffer dogs and snipers on the roofs of high-street buildings.

Claire Ptak was putting the finishing touches to the layered lemon and elderflower wedding cake. The sponge sandwich, which will be decorated with elderflower Swiss meringue buttercream and fresh flowers, contains 200 Amalfi lemons and 10 bottles of Sandringham elderflower cordial. In a “slight shift from tradition” it will be put together as “an installation”, promising to be more work of art than traditional wedding tier.

3.      Germany's Angela Merkel meets Russia's Vladimir Putin

The two leaders discussed Syria, the conflict in Ukraine, the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the Iran nuclear deal. Merkel was critical on press and cultural freedom, and a ceasefire breach in Ukraine.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin welcomes Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel to his Sochi residence on Friday      DW.com   May 18, 2018

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the Iran nuclear deal was better than none at all in a press conference with Vladimir Putin on Friday, also criticizing a breach in the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine overnight before their meeting in Sochi.

Merkel was speaking at a press conference following talks with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, with Germany at odds with Russia over its support for the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and its role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

What was said on Ukraine:

• Both leaders said the Minsk accord was the "only basis" to achieve peace in eastern Ukraine, and that work should continue in the so-called "Normandy" format — involving Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine. 
• Merkel noted a "major breach" in the ceasefire in the region overnight. 
• Putin said Russia would support UN international peace keepers in eastern Ukraine. 
• Merkel stressed Ukraine should remain a gas transit country even after the Nord Stream 2 pipeline opens, said Germany was "ready to play its role." 
• Putin said that Russian gas may still flow to Ukraine: "Supplies will continue if they are economically viable," Putin said.
• Putin found warm words on Donald Trump, saying "I understand the US president, he protects his business interests. He wants to push his product to the European market." According to Putin, "Donald is not just the US president; he is also a strong, good entrepreneur."

What was said on the Middle East:

• The US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal had created a difficult situation, Merkel said. 
• "It's not a perfect deal, but it's better than no deal," Merkel said of the Iran accord.
• Merkel said the EU is "currently discussing" a law that would block US sanctions on European companies wanting to invest in Iran.
• Putin said that European countries should help Syria rebuild if they want refugees to return to the country.
• Merkel said that Germany has a strategic interest in good relations with Russia.

What else was said:

• Putin described the talks as "very useful" for Russia, saying that they came at an interesting time. 
• Merkel said that "big problems can only be solved if you talk intensively about these topics where you're of different opinions."
• Putin also commented on the news that the poisoned double agent Sergei Skripal left the hospital earlier on Friday. "I believe that, if he had been poisoned by a military-grade toxin as our British colleagues are claiming, this man would die on the spot." Putin said. 

Fraught ties: Germany and Russia's agreement on the importance of the Iran nuclear deal is a rare moment of concurrence between the two countries. Relations have been marred by differences over Moscow's support for Syria's President Bashar Assad, its annexation of Crimea and its role in the subsequent conflict in eastern Ukraine, among other things.

'A lot at stake' as Merkel discusses sanctions with Putin

What is the Iran nuclear deal? The Iran nuclear deal was brokered in 2015 by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, including Russia, plus Germany and the European Union. Under the deal, Tehran agreed to no longer carry out nuclear work that could result in the production of nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions.

What are the consequences of the US withdrawal for Europe? Europeans consider the deal as key to regional security and fear that the US pullout could lead to Iran's relaunching its program to acquire nuclear weapons. They are also concerned that Washington's reintroduction of sanctions on Iran threatens their economic interests in the country.

Latest News Clips 2018.05.14

                      

1.      Malaysia’s Longest-Serving Prime Minister Returns to Power Promising a Tide of Change

Time   May 10, 2018

The 7th Malaysian Prime Minister and opposition candidate Mahathir Mohamad during a press conference on May 10, 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Fifteen years after he retired, Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister is back in his old job, vowing to reform the country he says was unraveled by the former ruling party he led for two decades.

At his first press conference as prime minister again on Thursday, Mahathir named revamping the economy and sorting out the country’s finances as his top priorities. He also pledged to fight corruption, as well as review politically motivated charges against dissidents and members of the opposition.

“We are particularly keen to ensure that the constitution is upheld and that the laws of this country are what will guide us through our administration,” he told reporters shortly before midnight local time.

Mahathir was sworn in late on Thursday night as the country’s seventh prime minister. Known as the father of Malaysia’s modernization, as well as an autocrat who kept a tight hold over power, the 92-year-old previously governed the country from 1981-2003, overseeing a period of rapid industrialization and infrastructure building.

After voters delivered an unprecedented rebuke of the incumbent Barisan National coalition at the polls, Mahathir, who defected to unite a fractured opposition, is now presiding over the country’s first transition of power since independence in 1957.

Delays to the swearing-in ceremony, which must be officiated by the king, prompted concern throughout the day that the unseated premier Najib Razak was making a last-ditch attempt to hold on to the government.

During his concession speech on Thursday, a scandal-dogged Najib vowed to respect the will of the people, but cast doubts over Mahathir’s ability to be appointed prime minister. Since no one party had achieved a simple majority — Pakatan Harapan is a four bloc coalition — he claimed it was up to the king, Sultan Muhammad V, to make a decision over who would be best for the people.

Mahathir had called for the king to respect the rule of law and sign-off on the transition by 5 p.m. Despite appearing at the palace in ceremonial dress at the appointed time, Mahathir, trailed by a retinue of anxious supporters, had to wait several hours before the rubber-stamping event.

“This took slightly more time than expected, about six hours more. But all time must come to an end and here we are: I was formally sworn in as prime minister,” Mahathir said at his Thursday night press conference.

He invited reporters to ask questions in an orderly fashion. “Don’t forget, I am the dictator,” he joked.

On his immediate to-do list, Mahathir named “the economy and the finances of this country” as his priority, suggesting that the accounts are at present in a “horrid state.”

“To saw we owe 1 trillion ringgit (about $253 billion) is not an exaggeration,” he said, adding that he hopes to recover much of the $4.5 billion allegedly stolen from a state investment fund known as 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

“We believe we can get most of the 1MDB money back because we know that the money is in America, in Singapore, in Switzerland and probably in Jho Low,” he said, referring to a Malaysian financier linked to the graft-tainted fund.

Najib denied any wrongdoing, but investigators say $1 billion from the fund ended up in his personal bank accounts. He could face criminal proceedings under the new administration, which says it will set up in an inquest into the missing money.

Mahathir also pledged to stop “adjusting petrol prices every few seconds,” and to work on rebuilding investor confidence through ending corruption and resurrecting rule of law.

“We also intend to abolish laws which are oppressive and unfair,” he said, specifically naming the Fake News law recently passed by parliament and widely seen as a vehicle to quash reports critical of the government.

During his previously 22 years in power, Mahathir inspired the opposition political movement he now spearheads after he was accused of weakening the judiciary, jailing critics and shuttering newspapers.

Observers have not missed the irony baked into Mahathir’s political encore.

“Mahathir, who dismantled many of the institutions of democracy in Malaysia, turns out to be the savior of democracy,” Bridget Welsh, associate professor of Political Science at John Cabot University, tells TIME.

Mahathir has defended his record, claiming the system predates him and that he has apologized for mistakes made a generation ago.

“We have work to do for the future of our country we should not be harping on our past,” the country’s new nonagenarian leader said on Thursday night.

2.      Opinion: With Emmanuel Macron, the EU still has a chance

DW   May 10, 2018

In his acceptance speech for the Charlemagne Prize, French President Emmanuel Macron urged the European Union to make reforms. We cannot lose any more time in implementing them, says DW's Bernd Riegert.

    

He's only been in office for a year, but he is a worthy recipient of the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen. In his impressive and passionate speech, French President Emmanuel Macron has shown that he has clear goals for Europe, that he has the will and ability to enact change. At just 40 years old, this politician can certainly inspire and motivate his audience, as was apparent from the response in the town hall in the western German city of Aachen and at the public screening in the squares outside. Macron wins people's approval; they are fired up by his ideas.

When he says that the EU cannot afford to be weak given the challenges it faces on the domestic and foreign policy fronts, it is immediately obvious. The EU has to act in order to renew itself, and it has to act now. This is Macron's core theory. And the EU must not be afraid. In saying this, Macron was also directly appealing to those EU citizens who are wavering and losing heart. Solidarity among people within the bloc must be restored, he said, whether on economic issues or on migration. Nationalism must be warded off, and a multilateral world order must be established. Macron sees himself as the alternative to the president of the United States. He is the European anti-Donald Trump.

Against nationalism

In his speech in Aachen and in his exclusive interview with DW, Macron was not stating these aims for the first time; but he repeated them very forcefully and with great conviction. You believe that he is genuinely committed to the politics of Europe. His appeal to the EU not to allow itself to be divided is sincere and credible. The latest warnings have taken the form of Brexit and a new nationalism in Poland and Hungary, and now in Italy, too. Macron, who won an election with a clear declaration of loyalty to Europe, could be the EU's last chance.

What was particularly notable about this Charlemagne Prize award ceremony was that German Chancellor Angela Merkel agrees with the recipient on almost every point. She promised that Germany and France would renew the EU together.

Macron's proposals are concrete; Merkel's are still vague. She promised this would change at the EU summit to be held at the end of June. Germany and France also agree that the EU ought to play a greater foreign policy role — especially in the Middle East. The Iran deal must be upheld as best it can. Merkel repeated her statement that Europe could no longer rely on the US as a guarantor for defense and security.

Germany must join in

In his speech, Macron the European once again made it crystal clear that there will be a price to pay for the continuing development of the EU. Germany must relinquish its opposition to a transfer union. France must give up its resistance and be prepared to accept EU treaty changes, i.e. be prepared to take a democratic risk.

Read more: 'Macron needs to shed his image as president of the rich'

This is a courageous approach, but Macron has realized that if nothing is risked, nothing is gained. The French president succeeded in getting the pro-European-minded guests at the Charlemagne Prize ceremony on his side. Now he also has to convince the skeptics in Poland, Hungary, Italy and elsewhere. That will be considerably harder than delivering a brilliant speech.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban chose Thursday of all days, the day of the Charlemagne Prize ceremony, to confirm the end of "liberal democracy." This sends shivers down the spine. The great hope of the EU has to try and save the project. What if he doesn't succeed? By the end of the ceremony it was clear to everyone in Aachen: We need more Macrons in Europe.

3.      Trump Withdraws U.S. From ‘One-Sided’ Iran Nuclear Deal

00:00

0:50

The New York Times    May 8, 2018

WASHINGTON — President Trump declared on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, unraveling the signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor, Barack Obama, isolating the United States from its Western allies and sowing uncertainty before a risky nuclear negotiation with North Korea.

The decision, while long anticipated and widely telegraphed, leaves the 2015 agreement reached by six countries after two years of grueling negotiations in tatters. The United States will now reimpose the stringent sanctions it imposed on Iran before the deal and is mulling new penalties.

Iran said it will remain in the deal, which tightly restricts its nuclear ambitions for a decade or more. So did France, Germany and Britain, raising the prospect of a trans-Atlantic clash as European companies face potential American sanctions for their involvement with Iran. China and Russia, also signatories to the deal, are likely to join Iran in accusing the United States of violating the accord.

Mr. Trump’s move could embolden hard-line forces in Iran, raising the threat of Iranian retaliation against Israel or the United States, fueling an arms race in the Middle East and fanning sectarian conflicts from Syria to Yemen.

The president, however, framed his decision as the fulfillment of a bedrock campaign promise and the act of a dealmaker dissolving a fatally flawed agreement. He predicted his tough line with Iran would strengthen his hand as he prepared to meet North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, to begin negotiating the surrender of his nuclear arsenal.

“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” a grim-faced Mr. Trump said in a 11-minute address from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House. “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”

Mr. Trump’s announcement drew a chorus of opposition from European leaders, several of whom lobbied him feverishly not to pull out of the agreement and searched for fixes to it that would satisfy him.

What Changes and What Remains in the Iran Nuclear Deal

The restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program under the deal could survive.

May 7, 2018

It also drew a rare public rebuke by Mr. Obama, who said Mr. Trump’s withdrawal would leave the world less safe, confronting it with “a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East.”

The response from Iran itself, however, was muted. President Hassan Rouhani declared that the Iranians intended to abide by the terms of the deal, and he criticized Mr. Trump for his history of not honoring international treaties. Mr. Trump won strong backing from Saudi Arabia and Israel, whose leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hailed him for a “historic move” and “courageous leadership.”

Three times previously, the president’s aides had persuaded him not to dismantle the Iran deal. But Mr. Trump made clear that his patience had worn thin, and with a new, more hawkish cohort of advisers — led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the national security adviser, John R. Bolton — the president faced less internal resistance than earlier in his administration.

While Mr. Trump had long scorned the Iran deal, threatening repeatedly to rip it up during the 2016 presidential race, his impulse to act now was reinforced by what he views as the success of his policy toward North Korea. He has told aides and foreign leaders that his policy of maximum pressure had forced Mr. Kim to the bargaining table, and that a similar policy of overwhelming pressure would enable the United States to extract a better deal from Iran.