From The Times of Israel
Theresa May facing upped pressure to resign as coalition deal awaits
UK PM navigating possible challenge from Boris Johnson as Downing Street admits alliance with ultra-conservative Irish faction not a done deal
June 11, 2017, 7:05 am
British Prime Minister Theresa May’s office said Sunday talks were still ongoing with the Democratic Unionist Party on seeking its support for a Conservative government after earlier saying an outline agreement had been reached.
May’s Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in a humiliating election Thursday and now need the support of the 10 MPs from Northern Ireland’s ultra-conservative DUP to pass votes, sparking widespread calls for her to resign.
“The prime minister has tonight spoken with the DUP to discuss finalizing a confidence and supply deal when Parliament returns next week,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said, referring to a deal whereby the DUP would support the government but not enter a formal coalition.
“We will welcome any such deal being agreed, as it will provide the stability and certainty the whole country requires as we embark on Brexit and beyond.”
The new statement came after Downing Street earlier said the DUP had agreed to the principles of an outline agreement to support a Conservative government.
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From PressTV
US-led coalition appears to be using white phosphorus in Syria, Iraq
Newly released videos appear to show US-led coalition bombers using white phosphorus-loaded munitions in densely-populated areas in Syria and Iraq.
White phosphorus is an incendiary and toxic chemical substance. The munitions filled with the substance create a thick white cloud when they explode. Upon contact with flesh, the substance can maim and kill by burning to the bone. Human rights groups warn against the use of the substance.
Raqqah is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), a group of citizen journalists who document abuses in the Daesh stronghold of Raqqah, posted footage online showing the signature spread of airburst white phosphorus — probably from M825 series 155-milimeter artillery rounds — while exploding over the Syrian city’s eastern part.
Similar videos were also published online, appearing to show the use of white phosphorus bombs by the US-led coalition warplanes in the Iraqi city of Mosul as well.
Mary Wareham, the advocacy director at Human Rights Watch’s arms division, said the organization was trying to determine the veracity of the videos.
US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, a spokesman for the US-led coalition, said he would not confirm the use of the munitions but claimed that the US military employed it in “accordance with the law of armed conflict” and that white phosphorus rounds were “used for screening, obscuring, and marking in a way that fully considers the possible incidental effects on civilians and civilian structures.”
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From PressTV
Erdogan approves bill to deploy troops to Qatar
Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan has approved legislation that allows the deployment of Turkish military forces to Qatar, in what has been interpreted as a sign of Ankara’s support for Doha in the face of attempts by certain Arab countries to isolate Qatar.
Erdogan approved the legislation concerning the deployment of troops to a Turkish base in Qatar and military training cooperation between the two countries on Thursday.
The Turkish parliament had pushed the bill through and ratified it on Wednesday, and Erdogan’s approval late on Thursday completed the legislative process, the Official Gazette reported on Friday.
The legislation did not specify when and how many troops would be deployed.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, the Maldives, and Egypt broke off ties to Qatar on Monday, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. They also suspended all land, air, and sea traffic with Qatar, ejected its diplomats, and ordered Qatari citizens to leave.
The move is widely believed to have been spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, which often manages to have its vassal states fall into line. Also, Saudi Arabia itself is known as the main sponsor of the violent Wahhabi terrorists that it has accused Qatar of supporting. Some analysts believe the Saudi anger is rather because Qatar acts more independently of Riyadh, including partially in its relations with Iran.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
London mayor, police get advice from Israel on fighting urban terrorism
(JTA) — London Mayor Sadiq Kahn said he spoke with Israeli officials for advice on how to combat urban terrorism in the wake of terror attacks in London and Manchester.
Kahn told the London-based Jewish News that his office and Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officials had spoken with officials in Israel.
“My office has been in contact with not only Tel Aviv but other places as well,” he told the Jewish News in an interview published Tuesday.
In the wake of those conversations, police took new actions including placing concrete blocks in strategic locations on London Bridge as is done in various sites in Israel.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Liberman: There hasn’t been a better government for West Bank settlements
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman reacted to criticism from settler leaders claiming that the government has frozen West Bank settlement construction to appease the Trump administration.
Liberman noted on Sunday at the weekly Cabinet meeting that plans to build 3,651 homes in West Bank settlements were approved last week.
“Anyone who claims that it was possible to approve more construction in the settlements is not just trying to stretch the rope but to tear it completely, thereby putting the entire settlement enterprise at risk,” he said, according to reports.
Since January 1, Israel has approved the construction of 8,345 homes in the West Bank, including 3,066 that are approved for immediate construction, the highest number of settler dwellings in 25 years.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
80% of Reform rabbis are Democrats. That’s higher than any other clergy.
A group of rabbis protesting outside of Trump Tower in New York City, Feb. 6, 2017. (Ben Sales)
NEW YORK (JTA) — The vast majority of Reform and Conservative rabbis affiliate as Democrats, according to a new study.
The study, published Sunday by Yale University, found that more than 80 percent of Reform rabbis, and about 70 percent of Conservative rabbis, affiliate as Democrats. Both were among the top five most Democratic clergy of the Jewish and Christian denominations in the United States, with Reform rabbis topping the list.
Among Orthodox rabbis, nearly 40 percent identify as Democrats and a quarter as Republicans.
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From PressTV
Kuwait: Qatar dispute may have undesirable consequences
Kuwait’s emir has warned that the dispute between Qatar and several other Persian Gulf states could lead to “undesirable consequences.”
“It is difficult for us, the generation that built the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council 37 years ago, to see these disagreements between its members which may lead to undesirable consequences,” Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah said on Monday.
Since early June, Kuwait has been playing the role of mediator between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates who broke off relations with Doha and suspended all land, air and sea traffic with the monarchy. In their apparent bid to secure US support and that of Israel, the four countries cited Qatar’s links with Hamas and accused it of supporting terrorism.
“I personally lived through the first building blocks of this council nearly four decades ago, so it is not easy for someone like me as a leader to stand silent without doing everything I can to bring brothers back together,” he added.
Last week, Kuwait’s emir traveled to Qatar after his visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of his efforts to help mediate a solution to the diplomatic row among Arab countries.
Read More:
- Qatar launches new shipping services to Oman amid diplomatic row
- Qatar Airways demands UN action against Saudi-led ‘blockade’
- Qatar hosted Taliban on US request: Official
From PressTV
US airstrikes shoot down drone, kill 17 civilians in Syria
US warplanes continue their unauthorized strikes in Syria, shooting down a pro-Syrian drone near the Jordanian border and killing 17 civilians in the northern province of Raqqah.
According to Colonel Ryan Dillon, the spokesman for the US-led coalition in Syria, a US airstrike hit the drone near the coalition’s al-Tanf garrison close to the Jordanian border on Thursday.
Dillon said although the missile the drone had fired hit only dirt and no one was hurt, it was meant to target coalition forces patrolling outside a so-called “deconfliction zone.”
The drone was about the same size as a US MQ-1 Predator and it is not immediately clear who owned the aircraft, Dillon pointed out.
The US has declared the surrounding 55 kilometers around the town of al-Tanf a deconfliction zone, in which only forces allied to Washington are allowed entry. The US has not received any permission from Damascus for the move.
It was the third time in less than a month that the US-led forces struck pro-Syrian forces near al-Tanf.
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From the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Chuck Schumer parodies Trump’s awkward Cabinet meeting in video
Sen. Charles Schumer talking to reporters at the Capitol, May 16, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(JTA) — President Donald Trump convened his first full Cabinet meeting on Monday, and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate minority leader, quickly transformed it into farce.
In his opening remarks, in a meeting held in full view of the media, Trump focused on his accomplishments.
“We have done about as much as anybody ever in a short period of time in the presidency,” he said.
Then, in a weird bit of theater that might have played well in Pyongyang, Trump’s senior staff and Cabinet, one by one, praised his leadership in effusive terms.
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