From PressTV
Bibi vows to prevent Iran-West nuclear agreement
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has once again vowed to do his utmost to prevent a nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu reiterated his earlier claims about the ongoing negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear work.
“We will continue to act to prevent the emerging [nuclear] agreement with Iran — an agreement which will endanger us, our neighbors and the world,” said the Israeli premier after meeting with the regime’s president, Reuven Rivlin.
This is while a new round of ministerial talks over Iran’s nuclear program is scheduled to kick off on March 26 in the Swiss city of Lausanne.
Netanyahu, whose right-wing Likud party surprisingly won 30 of the 120 parliament seats in last week’s legislative elections, also announced his decision to restore ties with the US which have been frayed in recent months over Israel’s stance towards Iran’s nuclear talks.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
House members seek added funding for U.S.-Israel missile defense systems
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Two House members requested additional funding for joint United States and Israel missile defense systems.
Reps. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, and Rep. Grace Meng (D- N.Y.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, requested $41.4 million for the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, $286.9 million for the David’s Sling weapons system and $146 million for the Arrow weapons system.
“These programs are essential to the safety and security of our ally Israel,” Roskam and Meng wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
“Our requested funding levels for the upcoming year seek to address the evolving threats posed by Israeli adversaries, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran – all of which are developing more advanced, short-, medium- and long-range rocket and missile capabilities.”
From Russia Today
Taliban pledge to continue fighting as Obama approves US troops to stay through 2015
The Taliban says it has been left with no alternative but to continue its fight against the US. They made the statement hours after President Barack Obama delayed withdrawing American troops, saying the US would stay in Afghanistan until the end of 2015.
The announcement from the Taliban came from spokesman Zabihullah Mujaahid, who said that the decision by President Obama to leave 9,800 US troops in Afghanistan was not going to do anything to help a resurgent Taliban continue peace talks with the Afghan government.
“Obama’s announcement to continue to keep troops in Afghanistan is a response to the peace efforts,”Mujahid told AFP.
“This damages all the prospects for peace. This means the war will go on until they are defeated,” he added.
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From The Times of Israel
US mulls airstrikes on Islamic State in Tikrit
Washington edging closer to indirect cooperation with Iran in effort to defeat jihadists holding Iraqi city
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFP) — Washington is considering launching airstrikes, possibly within days, to back up Iraqi and Shiite forces battling to recapture Tikrit from the Islamic State jihadist group, US officials said.
The statement came Tuesday after an official said the US was already providing reconnaissance support for Iraqi forces there, the first confirmation of American involvement in the operation.
Such assistance could help Iraqi forces move forward with their largest operation against IS jihadists to date, which enjoyed initial success but has since stalled into a siege, with the city surrounded but not retaken.
A US-led coalition has targeted IS with airstrikes and provided training and equipment to Iraqi forces, but had not previously announced direct assistance for the Tikrit operation, in which Iran has played a major role.
Possible airstrikes near Tikrit are “being discussed at a high level” and could be days or weeks away, a US official told AFP.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian to visit Israel next month
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Kanye West and Kim Kardashian reportedly are planning to visit Israel next month.
The celebrity power couple booked rooms at Jerusalem’s high-end Waldorf Astoria Hotel for themselves and their entourage for April 12, the Israeli daily Yediot Acharonot reported Wednesday.
The hotel declined to comment to Yediot, which reported that everyone involved in the visit has signed a multimillion-dollar confidentiality agreement. An Israeli security firm that specializes in protecting VIPs has been hired, according to the newspaper.
The couple reportedly is visiting Israel before flying to Jordan.
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From Russia Today
Fired Ukrainian governor taped threatening to ‘take over’ power plant
Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoysky has allegedly threatened to send volunteer battalions from eastern Ukraine to Kiev to seize a leading energy firm and power plant. The ex-governor’s gamble comes after one of the companies was shut for non-payment.
The audio recording of a conversation, in which a man sounding like Kolomoysky, the former Dnepropetrovsk governor fired by President Petro Poroshenko at the weekend, is heard voicing threats to the head of Naftogaz, has been posted by Ukrainian journalist-turned-MP Sergey Leshchenko on hisFacebook page.
Kolomoysky tells Naftogaz chief Andrey Kobolev that he is not going to pay the debts “as a matter of principle.”
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From The Times of Israel
President flees as Yemen teeters under rebel onslaught
Hadi said to leave country on boat for undisclosed location as Shiite Houthi insurgents backed by Iran advance on Aden
SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled his country by boat from the port of Aden, as Shiite rebels and their allies advance on this southern city, security and port officials said Wednesday.
The officials told The Associated Press that Hadi left with his aides after 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The entourage departed by two boats, under heavy security. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
They would not disclose Hadi’s destination. Yemen’s embattled president is scheduled to attend an Arab Summit in Egypt over the weekend.
Ousted Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi (photo credit: AP Photo/Yemen’s Defense Ministry, File)
