2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)
Benjamin Gantz (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין "בֵּנִי" גַּנְץ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli soldier and politician serving as Alternate Prime Minister of Israel and Minister of Defense since 2020. He served as the 20th Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from 2011 to 2015[1][2] and the 17th Speaker of the Knesset from 26 March 2020[3] to 17 May 2020.[4][5][6]
In December 2018, he established a new political party named Israel Resilience.[7][8] The party later allied itself with Telem and Yesh Atid to form Blue and White (Hebrew: Kaḥol Lavan), the colours of the Israeli national flag.[9] Gantz's Blue and White alliance platform includes introducing prime ministerial term limits, barring indicted politicians from serving in the Knesset, amending the nation-state law to include Israeli minorities, limiting the power of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel over marriages, investing in early education, expanding health care, and re-entering negotiations with the Palestinian Authority for a peace agreement.[10]
On 20 April 2020, Gantz agreed to join a unity government with Prime Minister Netanyahu which would see Gantz serve as prime minister in a rotation deal in 18 months.[11] Gantz was scheduled to become prime minister on 17 November 2021;[12] however, the coalition collapsed with a new election scheduled for 2021. from Wikipedia
In December 2018, he established a new political party named Israel Resilience.[7][8] The party later allied itself with Telem and Yesh Atid to form Blue and White (Hebrew: Kaḥol Lavan), the colours of the Israeli national flag.[9] Gantz's Blue and White alliance platform includes introducing prime ministerial term limits, barring indicted politicians from serving in the Knesset, amending the nation-state law to include Israeli minorities, limiting the power of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel over marriages, investing in early education, expanding health care, and re-entering negotiations with the Palestinian Authority for a peace agreement.[10]
On 20 April 2020, Gantz agreed to join a unity government with Prime Minister Netanyahu which would see Gantz serve as prime minister in a rotation deal in 18 months.[11] Gantz was scheduled to become prime minister on 17 November 2021;[12] however, the coalition collapsed with a new election scheduled for 2021. from Wikipedia
Mr Netanyahu (left) and his political rival Benny Gantz have shared power since April
Israel election: New poll due after unity government crumbles
Israel is to hold its fourth elections in two years after the two main parties in its unity government failed to meet a deadline in a row over state budgets.
Feb. 27 - Voters will return to the polls in March, just 12 months after the last round.
Two previous elections were inconclusive, resulting in a rare government of national unity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial for alleged corruption, is hoping to return to office for a sixth time.
He denies the criminal charges against him, dismissing them as politically motivated. continue to read
Related Articles:
Israel election: New poll due after unity government crumbles
Israel is to hold its fourth elections in two years after the two main parties in its unity government failed to meet a deadline in a row over state budgets.
Feb. 27 - Voters will return to the polls in March, just 12 months after the last round.
Two previous elections were inconclusive, resulting in a rare government of national unity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial for alleged corruption, is hoping to return to office for a sixth time.
He denies the criminal charges against him, dismissing them as politically motivated. continue to read
Related Articles:
Netanyahu rival launches probe, testing partnership
Israel’s defense minister has appointed a committee to investigate the government’s controversial purchase of German submarines several years ago — a step that further strains his already poor relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Feb. 27 - Israel’s defense minister on Sunday appointed a committee to investigate the government's controversial purchase of German submarines several years ago — a step that further strained his already poor relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The $2 billion purchase of the submarines and warships made by Thyssenkrupp is the focus of a sweeping corruption scandal in which seven businessmen, including confidants of Netanyahu, have been named as suspects.
Netanyahu, who is on trial for his involvement in three other corruption scandals, is not a suspect in the submarine case. But critics, including his defense minister at the time of the purchase in 2015, have said Netanyahu behaved improperly and may have had a conflict of interest. more to read
More about:
BenjaminNetanyahuSubmarinesBennyGantzCommitteePurchaseGovernmentGermanIsraelAPJerusalemBusinessmenRelationshipCommitteeCommittee
Israel’s defense minister has appointed a committee to investigate the government’s controversial purchase of German submarines several years ago — a step that further strains his already poor relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Feb. 27 - Israel’s defense minister on Sunday appointed a committee to investigate the government's controversial purchase of German submarines several years ago — a step that further strained his already poor relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
The $2 billion purchase of the submarines and warships made by Thyssenkrupp is the focus of a sweeping corruption scandal in which seven businessmen, including confidants of Netanyahu, have been named as suspects.
Netanyahu, who is on trial for his involvement in three other corruption scandals, is not a suspect in the submarine case. But critics, including his defense minister at the time of the purchase in 2015, have said Netanyahu behaved improperly and may have had a conflict of interest. more to read
More about:
BenjaminNetanyahuSubmarinesBennyGantzCommitteePurchaseGovernmentGermanIsraelAPJerusalemBusinessmenRelationshipCommitteeCommittee
Jamal Khashoggi was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018
Jamal Khashoggi: Joe Biden tells Saudi Arabia's king that he will 'hold them accountable for human rights abuses'
Jamal Khashoggi, an exiled journalist who was a frequent critic of the crown prince, was murdered in October 2018.
Joe Biden has told Saudi Arabia's King Salman that he will "hold them accountable for human rights abuses".
Feb. 27 - The president's warning came after a newly declassified intelligence report concluded that the kingdom's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is likely to have approved an operation to kill or capture a US-based journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Jamal Khashoggi, an exiled journalist who was a frequent critic of the crown prince, was murdered in October 2018.
Speaking to Univision News, Mr Biden confirmed that he had spoken to King Salman on Thursday, and had warned there will be "significant changes" in the country's relationship with the US.
The report, contributed to mostly by the CIA, said the crown prince's "absolute control" of the kingdom's intelligence organisations would make it highly unlikely that such an operation could have been carried out without his authorisation.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry rejected the accusation, calling the report's assessment "negative, false and unacceptable" and its conclusion "unjustified and inaccurate".
A statement called the murder "an abhorrent crime and a flagrant violation of the kingdom's laws and values".
The central conclusion of the report was widely expected - given that intelligence officials were said to have reached it soon after the brutal murder of Mr Khashoggi. He had written opinion columns for the Washington Post that were critical of the crown prince's policies.
But it will be seen as an extraordinary rebuke of the ambitious 35-year-old Saudi leader, and is likely to set the tone for the Biden administration's relationship with the kingdom. more details
Jamal Khashoggi: Joe Biden tells Saudi Arabia's king that he will 'hold them accountable for human rights abuses'
Jamal Khashoggi, an exiled journalist who was a frequent critic of the crown prince, was murdered in October 2018.
Joe Biden has told Saudi Arabia's King Salman that he will "hold them accountable for human rights abuses".
Feb. 27 - The president's warning came after a newly declassified intelligence report concluded that the kingdom's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is likely to have approved an operation to kill or capture a US-based journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Jamal Khashoggi, an exiled journalist who was a frequent critic of the crown prince, was murdered in October 2018.
Speaking to Univision News, Mr Biden confirmed that he had spoken to King Salman on Thursday, and had warned there will be "significant changes" in the country's relationship with the US.
The report, contributed to mostly by the CIA, said the crown prince's "absolute control" of the kingdom's intelligence organisations would make it highly unlikely that such an operation could have been carried out without his authorisation.
Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry rejected the accusation, calling the report's assessment "negative, false and unacceptable" and its conclusion "unjustified and inaccurate".
A statement called the murder "an abhorrent crime and a flagrant violation of the kingdom's laws and values".
The central conclusion of the report was widely expected - given that intelligence officials were said to have reached it soon after the brutal murder of Mr Khashoggi. He had written opinion columns for the Washington Post that were critical of the crown prince's policies.
But it will be seen as an extraordinary rebuke of the ambitious 35-year-old Saudi leader, and is likely to set the tone for the Biden administration's relationship with the kingdom. more details
Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations has warned of a growing tendency among some countries to resort to threats or use of force under the pretext of exercising their right to self-defense, referring to the assassination by the US of Iran’s Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani as a case in point.
Iran warns US claim of using ‘right to self-defense’ in assassination of Gen. Soleimani
Feb. 7 - AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations has warned of a growing tendency among some countries to resort to threats or use of force under the pretext of exercising their right to self-defense, referring to the assassination by the US of Iran’s Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani as a case in point.
“If unchecked, the right to self-defense will not only be abused more frequently by such states, but also they will institute further exceptions to the principle of the prohibition of the threat or use of force,” IRAN quoted Majid Takht-Ravanchi as saying in an address to the UN Security Council Open Arria Formula Meeting on right to self-defense in New York on Wednesday.
He pointed to the US’s brutal assassination of Lt. General Soleimani, the Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, in Iraq early in 2020 in a gross violation of the basic norms and principles of international law. continue to read
Iran warns US claim of using ‘right to self-defense’ in assassination of Gen. Soleimani
Feb. 7 - AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Iran’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations has warned of a growing tendency among some countries to resort to threats or use of force under the pretext of exercising their right to self-defense, referring to the assassination by the US of Iran’s Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani as a case in point.
“If unchecked, the right to self-defense will not only be abused more frequently by such states, but also they will institute further exceptions to the principle of the prohibition of the threat or use of force,” IRAN quoted Majid Takht-Ravanchi as saying in an address to the UN Security Council Open Arria Formula Meeting on right to self-defense in New York on Wednesday.
He pointed to the US’s brutal assassination of Lt. General Soleimani, the Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, in Iraq early in 2020 in a gross violation of the basic norms and principles of international law. continue to read
伊再升级核设施 法航母赴中东 美：伊朗挑战紧迫！20210225 |《今日关注》 CCTV中文国际
Feb 26, 2021
Feb 26, 2021
Iraqi President Barham Salih hailed ties with Iran as unique, saying that that Iraqi relations with Iran are helpful for prosperity of Iraqi people and for the Iraqi Government fighting ISIS terrorism.
Iraqi president calls for collective resolve to fight ISIS terrorism
Feb. 27 - Addressing a meeting of US Brookings Institution, he added that during the era of Saddam Hussein, Iraq had turned into a problem for the region and the entire world.
Noting that all Iraq's neighbors should respect its sovereignty and independence, he said that stability in Iraq can help the situation in Syria, which is very important. Stability in Iraq will mean less conflict with Turkey and Iran.
Salih also called for collective resolve with the neighbors to fight terrorism and extremism and participation to modernize economic infrastructures.
Reiterating that Iraq is committed to liberating its entire territory from ISIS, he added that regardless of the US government's decision, Iraq is committed to fighting ISIS to bring terrorism to an end.
He called for regional and international co-operation to fight terrorism, saying that without cooperation of the neighboring states to counter the challenge of extremism and the terrorist groups throughout the Middle East, the humanitarian plight will not end. source from
Iraqi president calls for collective resolve to fight ISIS terrorism
Feb. 27 - Addressing a meeting of US Brookings Institution, he added that during the era of Saddam Hussein, Iraq had turned into a problem for the region and the entire world.
Noting that all Iraq's neighbors should respect its sovereignty and independence, he said that stability in Iraq can help the situation in Syria, which is very important. Stability in Iraq will mean less conflict with Turkey and Iran.
Salih also called for collective resolve with the neighbors to fight terrorism and extremism and participation to modernize economic infrastructures.
Reiterating that Iraq is committed to liberating its entire territory from ISIS, he added that regardless of the US government's decision, Iraq is committed to fighting ISIS to bring terrorism to an end.
He called for regional and international co-operation to fight terrorism, saying that without cooperation of the neighboring states to counter the challenge of extremism and the terrorist groups throughout the Middle East, the humanitarian plight will not end. source from
