1.
Trump’s Failure in Jerusalem
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.
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