From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Donald Trump wins Nevada caucuses
Ted Cruz made a call out to Israel as he looked forward to the Super Tuesday contests.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Donald Trump was projected to win the Nevada caucus, his third straight early nomination win in a row in the battle to secure the Republican presidential nod.The real estate magnate and reality TV star appeared set to secure between 40 and 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday, his largest take yet in a streak of wins that include New Hampshire and South Carolina.
Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., were competing for second place, both picking up vote percentages in the low 20s. The other two candidates, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and neurosurgeon Ben Carson, were in the single digits.
Cruz in his concession speech said he looked forward to competing in 11 states, including his home state of Texas, on March 1, Super Tuesday, as a way of reviving his campaign. He won the first nominating contest earlier this month, in Iowa.
As he often does Cruz, in making the case that he would be the best candidate, noted his pro-Israel record.
“If you want to see America standing unapologetically next to the nation of Israel, ask yourself who has led the fight to stand unshakably next to the nation of Israel,” said Cruz, who also said he would “rip to shreds” last year’s Iran nuclear deal.
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From Russia Today
Russia takes concrete steps towards Syria ceasefire, Turkey continues shelling – MoD
The intensity of Russian airstrikes in Syria has “significantly” decreased over the past two days, Defense Ministry spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov told a media briefing on Wednesday.
However the airstrike against terrorist groups like Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front are continuing.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
How the mayor of Las Vegas succeeded her husband, the Jewish ‘Donald Trump’
LAS VEGAS (JTA) — You haven’t heard a lot about Carolyn Goodman, which may be just how she wants it.
Goodman, 76, was elected mayor of this city in 2011, succeeding her husband, Oscar Goodman, who had served three terms and was barred by term limits from running for a fourth. She was reelected last year.
Whereas Oscar is “flamboyant,” as Goodman put it in an interview in her office overlooking the Strip, she is more self-effacing. She is prone to be gracious in victory, once praising her opponent following a tough municipal election as having “good intentions” for Las Vegas. Oscar, a former mob lawyer who played a version of himself in “Goodfellas,” had once called another challenger a “piece of crap.”
She’s also disarmingly candid, confessing that she was “born a brunette” and recounting with pride the adoption of her four children, whose photos surround her in her office.
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From Russia Today
New Year’s sex attackers unlikely to be caught – Cologne police chief
The poor quality of CCTV camera footage will prevent the identification of sex offenders, Mathies said, according to the BBC.
“The CCTV footage is not good enough to clearly identify sexual assaults. We can see some thefts but that’s all. We are relying on witness accounts and victims identifying their attackers,” Mathies told the BBC.
On Wednesday three men – a Tunisian and two Moroccans – were brought before a court on the charge of thefts perpetrated on December 31, 2015. The Moroccan, identified only as Younis A, received a six-month suspended sentence for stealing a mobile phone. The verdict for the others is yet to be announced.
Police have charged 13 people so far with only one of them, a 26-year-old Algerian asylum seeker, facing a sexual offense charge.
Cologne police were able to pinpoint only 75 suspects while more than 800 complaints were filed.
From Russia Today
Hungary to hold referendum on EU migrant quota plan
Orban said that the referendum question would be: “Do you want the European Union to be able to mandatory settle non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary, even without the approval of the Hungarian Parliament?” The PM added that those who choose not to back the EU’s proposal and reject the plan would thus be supporting Hungary’s independence.
“The EU has no right to make decisions that could change the lives of people without asking them,” the PM told a news conference on Wednesday, adding that such EU action “equals an abuse of power.” If introduced, the quotas would redraw the ethnic, cultural and religious map not only of Hungary, but of the whole of Europe, he warned.
From Russia Today
Putin discusses Syria ceasefire with world leaders by phone
Russian President Vladimir Putin has held phone talks on the ceasefire plan brokered by Moscow and Washington with the Syrian president and Saudi king, as well the leaders of Israel and Iran.Vladimir Putin and Bashar Assad held a phone conversation on Wednesday and “discussed various aspects of the Syrian crisis in the light of realization of the Russian-American declaration on cessation of hostilities in Syria beginning February 27,” the Kremlin’s press service said in a statement.
Assad told Putin that his government was ready to help implement a cessation of hostilities. The two leaders also stressed the need to continue fighting Islamic State and the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, as well as “other terrorist groups,” according to the official Twitter account of the Syrian president.
A ceasefire in Syria was announced Monday by the Russian and US presidents aimed at seeking an armistice in the country, which has been devastated by a five-year-long civil war.
From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
$10 million gift to endow Georgetown U Holocaust study fund
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Georgetown University will create a permanent program on the forensic study of the Holocaust using a new $10 million gift.
The donation to the Washington, D.C., school is from Norman and Irma Braman, a Florida couple who have made large gifts to other universities and hospitals. Norman Braman is founding chairman of the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach, and the couple is active with Yad Vashem in Israel and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
The Braman Endowed Program Fund will support teaching, research and field study for Georgetown faculty and students and fund the development of a new public outreach program with the aim of preventing future Holocausts. The money will fund an endowed professorship as well as research and public service programs on the Holocaust.
“This gift will ensure that the study of the Holocaust remains an integral area of study and scholarship at Georgetown,” the Jesuit and Catholic university’s president, John DeGioia, said in a statement issued Wednesday.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Obama signs law to defend Israel from boycott, but says settlements don’t count
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Barack Obama signed a bill that punishes the BDS campaign against Israel, but said he will not apply a segment that extends protections to West Bank settlements.
The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, aimed at removing unfair barriers to competitive U.S. trade, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in December and the Senate on Feb. 11. Obama signed the bill into law Wednesday.
A lengthy section of the law on promoting U.S. Israel trade requires non-cooperation with entities that participate in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel, and reporting on such entities. The section includes within its definition of an Israel boycott actions that would target businesses in “Israeli-controlled territories.”
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