From Russia Today
Merkel adamant Turkey has to meet all conditions of visa-free travel deal with EU
Published time: 23 May, 2016 15:20
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, May 23, 2016. © Kayhan Ozer / Reuters
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Ankara needs to fulfill all of the key conditions set by Brussels for its citizens to enjoy visa freedom in the EU. She voiced “deep concern” over the Turkish parliament’s decision to strip some lawmakers of immunity.
“I’ve made this clear in the conversation today that I also think we need an independent judicial system, we need independent media and we need a strong parliament,” Merkel said after having held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Monday.
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From Russia Today
Gorbachev says US was ‘rubbing its hands with glee’ after Soviet Union’s demise
Published time: 22 May, 2016 18:28
Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev © Grigoriy Sisoev / Sputnik
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has expressed regret over the collapse of the Soviet Union that, according to him, was met by much exultation in Washington, which may be one of the reasons for current tensions in US-Russia relations.
In recalling the US response to the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991, Gorbachev said that the Americans, though trying not to show it, were in fact elated at the idea of having overpowered their main geopolitical rival.
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Sir Richard Dearlove is right, visa waivers for Turks are dangerous
- Turkish soldiers stand guard on the border with Syria, near the southeastern town of Akcakale. Turkey is the largest host country, having taken in over 2.7 million Syrian refugees Reuters
From Ynet News
Afghan Taliban leader killed in US drone strike
Mullah Akhtar Mansour killed in air strike in remote area just inside Pakistani border; strike underscores belief among US commanders the Taliban has grown increasingly close to al-Qaeda under Mansour’s leadership.
WASHINGTON/KABUL – High-ranking sources within the Afghan Taliban confirmed to AFP that an air strike carried out by the United States has killed Taliban Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a remote area just inside the Pakistan border in an operation likely to sink any immediate prospect for peace talks.
The death of Mansour may open up a battle for succession and deepen fractures that emerged in the insurgent movement after the death of its founder Mullah Mohammad Omar was confirmed last year, more than two years after he died.
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From Ynet News
US rejects Russian offer to coordinate airstrikes
The US has rejected a Russian proposal to carry out coordinated air strikes against Sunni rebels in Syria; US aim remains for Russia to persuade Assad to abide by the cessation of hostilities MOSCOW- Russia has proposed to the US- led coalition that they stage joint air strikes on Syrian rebels, including militant Islamist group Nusra Front, who are not observing a ceasefire, but the United States responded negatively on Friday.
Such action would begin as of May 25 and be coordinated with the Syrian government, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told a Defence Ministry meeting broadcast on state television, adding Moscow reserved the right to stage strikes unilaterally. He said joint air strikes should also target convoys carrying weapons and ammunition crossing into Syria from Turkey.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Far-right Austrian presidential candidate’s narrow loss is wake-up call, Jewish groups say
Alexander Van der Bellen, left, and Norbert Hofer appearing for a TV program in Vienna, Austria, May 22, 2016. (Jan Hetfleisch/Getty Images)
(JTA) – European Jewish groups reacted with relief to the victory by a left-wing politician over a far-right candidate in Austria’s presidential elections.
Alexander van der Bellen, an environmentalist with a pro-refugee agenda, won with 50.3 percent of the vote on Sunday, despite early reports predicting victory for Norbert Hofer of the Austrian Freedom Party party, or FPO, in the runoff, the BBC reported. Hofer had 49.7 percent of the vote.
“While we are certainly satisfied with the result, there is little room to celebrate the high level of support for someone with such extremist views as Norbert Hofer,” European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor said in a statement Monday. “Unfortunately, the dissatisfaction with the moderate mainstream parties is providing oxygen to those like Hofer” and the Austrian Freedom Party.
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From Russia Today
Lavrov, Kerry discuss Moscow’s proposal to join against militants violating Syria ceasefire – FM
Published time: 23 May, 2016 21:06
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. © Leonhard Foeger / Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have discussed the possibility of joining forces to carry out attacks on militant groups breaking the ceasefire in Syria.
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From Russia Today
US spy plane flew ‘dangerously close’ to passenger jets near Russian border – MoD
Published time: 23 May, 2016 20:49
RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft. © Wikipedia
A US defense attache has been summoned by Russia’s Defense Ministry after an incident over the Sea of Japan near Russia’s eastern borders, where an American spy plane was detected flying too close to civilian aircraft.
Russia’s air defense detected an RC-135 spy plane belonging to US Air Force on Sunday, the ministry said in its statement. The plane was on an air reconnaissance mission with all of its transponders having been shut off, it added.
The US crew had not provided any information regarding its flight to air traffic controllers in the region, despite it flying at the same altitude as scheduled civil aviation flights.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israeli soldier who shot downed Palestinian pleads not guilty to manslaughter
Elior Azaria sitting in Jaffa military court, May 9, 2016. (Flash90)
(JTA) — An Israeli soldier pleaded not guilty to manslaughter for shooting an incapacitated Palestinian attacker in the West Bank in March in a case that has roiled the country.
Attorneys for Sgt. Elor Azaria, 19, of Ramle, told the Jaffa Military Court on Monday that their client acted in self-defense, fearing an immediate threat to himself and other soldiers at the scene.
“The accused acted in a split second to neutralize the terrorist and prevent injury to himself and his companions who were near the terrorist,” the attorneys said, according to The Times of Israel. “He didn’t see another possible way to save his and their lives.”
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
US will work with new Israeli defense minister, State Department says
Avigdor Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, speaking at a news conference at the Knesset, May 18, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The appointment of hard-liner Avigdor Liberman as Israel’s new defense minister will not affect security coordination between Israel and the United States or the military aid package being negotiated, an unnamed U.S. government official said, according to an Israeli television report.
The report by Channel 10 on Sunday came hours after another Israeli TV station, Channel 2, reported that the U.S. warned Israel that the appointment of Liberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, would cause problems for the defense talks.
Liberman in the defense post will succeed Moshe Yaalon, who resigned from his ministerial position as well as the Knesset on Friday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was immersed in talks to replace him with Liberman.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Democrats drafting party platform include critics of Israel, friends of Israel – and a BDS backer
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, left, embracing philosopher and social activist Cornel West in Des Moines, Iowa, Nov. 14, 2015. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Democratic Party platform drafting committee is top heavy with veterans of political battles over Israel — some friendly, some critical, and including at least one major backer of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
The Democratic National Committee named the committee on Monday, a day after reports emerged that Bernie Sanders, an Independent senator from Vermont running for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, wants the platform to elevate the issue of Palestinian rights.
The names signal that the robust debate on Israel that has rattled the party’s relationship with the mainstream pro-Israel community over the past two years will continue through the party convention in Philadelphia in July.
Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win major party nominating contests, named five of the committee’s members, while Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and front-runner in the party’s presidential primaries, named six. The remaining four were named by the DNC’s chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., among the most prominent Jewish leaders in the party.
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From Russia Today
‘Our meeting is our message’: Pope Francis hugs top imam during Vatican meeting
Published time: 23 May, 2016 18:04
Pope Francis greets Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed el-Tayeb (R), Egyptian Imam of al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican, May 23, 2016. © Osservatore Romano / Reuters
Pope Francis embraced the grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque during a historic meeting at the Vatican on Monday, in an encounter which both sides hope will lead to greater understanding and conversation between the two faiths.
The pontiff hugged and kissed Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb – the highest authority in Sunni Islam – during the meeting, with Francis telling reporters, “our meeting is the message.”
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From The Times of Israel
Israel returns ancient stolen relics to Egypt
‘Stop crying,’ Netanyahu tells critics of Israeli society; Zionist Union lawmakers pile on Herzog at faction meeting
May 22, 2016, 2:11 pm
The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they unfolded.
Kulanu said to oppose death penalty for terrorists
A senior member of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu party reportedly says his party will oppose an amendment to Israel’s penal code that would allow the sentencing of terrorists to death.
The death penalty has been a key demand of presumptive defense minister Avigdor Liberman in talks to bring his Yisrael Beytenu party into the coalition.
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