From the Independent (UK)
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Israeli, U.S. national security advisers meet amid tensions
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Israeli and U.S. national security advisers met amid tensions between the two countries as the top U.S. negotiator joined a new round of nuclear talks with Iran.
Susan Rice and Yossi Cohen met Thursday at the White House, according to Bernadette Meehan, the National Security Council spokeswoman.
“They discussed a range of issues of mutual concern, including Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S.-Israel bilateral relationship, and Israeli-Palestinian relations,” Meehan said in a statement. “The national security advisers agreed to continue close consultations on these and other issues.”
The meeting comes after weeks of tension between the Israeli and American governments and efforts on both sides to issue reassurances that close consultations continue nonetheless.
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From Russia Today
CIA-planted ‘evidence’ may force IAEA review of Iran’s alleged nuke arms program – report
Doctored blueprints for nuclear weapon components supplied to Iran by the CIA 15 years ago could force the IAEA to review its conclusions on Iran’s atomic program, which was potentially based on misleading intelligence, Bloomberg reports.
The details of the Central Intelligence Agency operation back in 2000 were made public as part of a judicial hearing into a case involving Jeffrey Sterling, an agent convicted of leaking classified information on CIA spying against Iran.
“The goal is to plant this substantial piece of deception information on the Iranian nuclear-weapons program, sending them down blind alleys, wasting their time and money,” a May 1997 CIA cable submitted to the court reads.
The intelligence in question pertains to fake designs of atomic components that were transferred to Iran in February 2000.
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From Ynet News
Lieberman to PM: Begin didn’t make speeches before destroying Iraq reactor
Yisrael Beiteinu leader downplays significance of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s planned US speech on Iran nuclear program, urges firm stance on Iran.
Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman made comments Friday night downplaying the significance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech before Congress next month about the threats of Iran’s nuclear program.
“In two previous occasions, when Menachem Begin made the decision to destroy the Iraqi nuclear reactor, there were no speeches or public debates. We woke up one morning – and there was no reactor. The same goes for what we read in the press about Syria. We woke up one morning and the reactor was gone. No speeches or tales were involved,” Lieberman said, speaking to Channel 2 News on Friday.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Protest disrupts work at Israeli-owned arms factory in U.K.
(JTA) — Protesters temporarily shut down a British factory owned by a subsidiary of the Israeli weapons and machinery manufacturer Elbit Systems.
A group of 14 activists from anti-arms and pro-Palestinian organizations, including Brighton BDS and Swansea Action for Palestine, stopped production Tuesday at the Instro Precision factory in the county of Kent in Britain’s southeast, the Jewish Chronicle of London reported.
Camera systems similar to those made by Instro Precision are used in Israeli drones supplied by Elbit to survey the West Bank security fence, according to the report. No arrests were made during the protest action, the paper said.
The sit-in came two weeks after prosecutors were forced to drop a case against protesters who occupied another Elbit subsidiary last August. Prosecutors ended their case after the drone engine manufacturers’ witnesses stopped cooperating, according to the Chronicle.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
23 Dems urge Boehner to delay Netanyahu speech
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Twenty-three Democrats wrote John Boehner, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging him to delay Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
The letter, sent to Rep. Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday, was spearheaded by Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.).
It said the March 3 speech was inappropriate coming just two weeks before Israeli elections and three weeks before a deadline for the outline of an Iran nuclear agreement.
“We strongly urge you to postpone this invitation until Israelis have cast their ballots and the deadline for diplomatic negotiations with Iran has passed,” it said. “When the Israeli prime minister visits us outside the specter of partisan politics, we will be delighted and honored to greet him or her on the Floor of the House.”
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From Russia Today
Kosovars unwelcome in EU: Austria says ‘don’t waste time seeking asylum’
Kosovo’s biggest daily newspaper has published a full-page appeal from Austria not to waste time and money trying to get asylum in the EU. The call comes after a surge in the number of Kosovars smuggling themselves out of the impoverished entity.
“Smugglers are lying. There will be no asylum for economic reasons in Austria. For staying illegally in Austria, you may be punished by up to €7,500 ($8,481),” Reuters cites the appeal published on the third page of Koha Ditore.
In 2012 Serbia, which considers Kosovo its own territory illegally taken away by separatists, allowed Kosovars to travel more freely through its territory with previously unrecognized Kosovo-issued documents.
Since then thousands of people rushed from Kosovo through Serbia to seek a better life in various EU countries, with Germany and Hungary dealing with the biggest influx.
Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner raised the issue of asylum seekers during his Friday visit to Pristina.
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From The Times of Israel
Jeb Bush ‘anxious to hear’ PM’s speech on Iran
Netanyahu trades messages of support on Twitter with GOP presidential candidate, as Democrats try to get address postponed
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Republican presidential prospect Jeb Bush shared messages of support on Twitter Thursday, after the former Florida governor said during a speech the day before that he thought it was important for the prime minister to address Congress on a possible nuclear deal with Iran.
“I don’t blame him for wanting to share his views and in fact, I think it will be important for the American people to get the perspective of our closest ally in the region,” Bush said Wednesday during a wide-ranging speech on foreign policy in front of the nonpartisan Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Netanyahu thanked Bush for his comments, and appeared to indicate he was moving ahead with the controversial talk.
Bush, whose older brother and father both occupied the Oval Office, responded that he was “anxious to hear” Netanyahu’s views.
From Russia Today
Ukrainian President ratifies joint 4,500-strong military unit with Poland and Lithuania
Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law ratifying the creation of a joint military unit with Poland and Lithuania. The unit is set to carry out tasks which have been given a UN Security Council mandate.
“The Agreement provides for the establishment of joint Ukrainian-Polish-Lithuanian military unit and determines the general purpose, principles of activity, decision-making process, security guarantees and other organizational measures related to the activity of the brigade,” the Ukrainian president’s official website says.
The brigade is to become a UN and EU peacekeeping force. Other states can join it under joint invitation from the three states.
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From Russia Today
15 terrifying images from Kiev’s 2014 Maidan revolution
Burning tires, barricades of rubble and blood on the pavement – RT presents the most striking photos from last February’s Maidan riots in Ukraine, which turned the capital Kiev into a warzone and led to an armed coup in the country.
1. With police carrying batons and riot shields, and protesters metal clubs and home-made protective gear – their clashes at times looked more befitting of a medieval battle field than a modern city.
2. The equipment of the riot police failed to provide any significant protection from Molotov cocktails, widely used by the protesters, with numerous officers being turned into human torches on the streets of Kiev.
3. The more rowdy protesters used every means available to provoke the police. At times it seemed like their sole aim was to escalate the violence.
From The Times of Israel
UC Davis student court overturns divestment resolution
Panel rules 5-0 with one abstention that motion was primarily political, violated student government constitution
An Israel divestment resolution passed at the University of California Davis last month by the student senate was overturned on February 19 by the university’s Court of Associated Students.
The court ruled 5-0, with one abstention, in favor of Jonathan Mitchell, who had filed a case with the court contending that the Associated Students UC Davis had failed to adhere to its own constitution in passing the Israel divestment resolution 8-2, with two abstentions, on January 29.
The court ruling found that any legislation passed by the senate, even those on politically related issues, “can and must be primarily concerning student welfare.”
The court found the divestment resolution “to be primarily a political document and did not deal with student welfare to the extent that allowed the ASUCD Senate jurisdiction to pass.”
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