April 30, 2017

Israel blames Germany for EU support of UNESCO anti-Israel resolution
Israel is angry at Germany for the anticipated European support for the resolution attacking Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, which UNESCO’s Executive Board in Paris is scheduled to approve this Tuesday, diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post. The behind-the-scenes conflict preceded the public argument between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel over his meeting with the left-wing group Breaking the Silence during his visit to Israel last week.
North Korea threatens Israel with ‘merciless, thousand-fold punishment’
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman hurt the “dignity of the supreme leadership” of North Korea…The comment was in reaction to Israeli remarks on how the Jewish State is affected by North Korean tension with the United States. In an interview with Hebrew news site Walla this week, the hawkish Liberman stated that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un is a madman and that together with the leaders of Iran and Syria was part of an “insane and radical” gang that was bent on undermining international stability.
North Korea crisis: Pope urges international mediation
Pope Francis has called for international mediation to ease rising tensions between the US and North Korea over Pyongyang’s nuclear activity. The pontiff suggested that Norway, for example, was “always ready to help”. He warned the crisis risked sparking a devastating war in which “a good part of humanity” would be destroyed.
Syrian Army refutes reports of IAF strike near Quneitra
Explosions were heard at a base housing the 90th brigade of the Syrian Army in southern Quneitra Saturday evening, Sky News Arabia reported. Initially, the explosions were attributed to an Israeli attack and local media reported seeing Israel Air Force (IAF) planes circling the area. However, Syrian military sources subsequently denied the reports on the Al-Miyadin network, which is affiliated with Hezbollah.
Five killed in Texas tornadoes; rains, winds lash US midsection: media
Tornadoes killed five people east of Dallas in Texas, local media reported on Saturday, as heavy rains and damaging winds struck a broad swath of the U.S. heartland. At least three tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in nearby Canton, with about 50 people being treated for related injuries at area hospitals, news outlets reported, citing hospital officials.
UK PM May braces for difficult Brexit talks after EU adopts tough stance
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday divorce talks with the European Union would be difficult, responding to the tough stance taken by EU leaders over the upcoming Brexit negotiations. EU leaders endorsed stiff divorce terms for Britain on Saturday and warned Britons to have “no illusions” about swiftly securing a new relationship to keep their access to EU markets.
U.S.-backed militias claim big advance against IS in Syria’s Tabqa
U.S.-backed militias said on Sunday they had made a big advance in Tabqa, a strategically vital town controlling Syria’s largest dam, in their campaign to drive Islamic State from its stronghold of Raqqa, 40km (25 miles) downstream. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group of Kurdish and Arab militias, will wait to assault Raqqa until it seizes Tabqa, its military officials have previously said, but it had made only slow progress since besieging the town early this month.
South Korea already working on reducing trade surplus with U.S.: finance minister
South Korea’s finance minister said on Sunday the government was already working on downsizing its trade surplus with the United States, a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments Thursday that Washington will renegotiate or scrap the free trade pact the two countries have. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho added in televised comments he did not expect the free trade agreement will be terminated. It has been in effect since 2012.
The North Korean nuclear threat, explained (video)
Why experts are urging Trump to act now while he still can.
Iranian cargo planes land in Damascus hours before ‘Israeli strike’ on airport
Four cargo planes originating from Iran landed at an airport outside Damascus just hours before Syria accused Israel of attacking a military compound nearby
Furious Bank Run Leaves Canada’s Largest Alternative Mortgage Lender On Edge Of Collapse
“When you have a run on the bank, people get spooked and they sell and ask questions later,” said a Bay Street investment banker. “It’s investor psychology that takes over.”
Erdogan Blocks Wikipedia, Bans TV Dating Shows, Purges Another 4,000 Public Officials
Two weeks after winning the Turkish constitutional referendum by a modest but decisive margin, president – or perhaps it is now despot – Erdogan decided to take his newly decreed powers for a spin and overnight in rapid succession surprised foreign observers when Turkey decreed that it would ban TV dating shows, fire an additional 4,000 public officials and also ban Wikipedia.
Far-right candidate bedeviled by France’s Nazi history
The horrors of the World War II Nazi death camps moved front and center in France’s presidential campaign on Friday, nine days before the election, reawakening the anti-Semitic stigma that has clung to the party of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and that she has spent more than six years trying to erase.
New website offers US women help to perform their own abortions
Fearful that Donald Trump’s presidency poses a once-in-a-generation threat to US reproductive rights, an international advocacy group this week is unveiling what is sure to be a controversial response: a web portal dedicated to helping US women terminate their own pregnancies with abortion-inducing drugs they have obtained outside of a medical setting.
After pushing vaccines for depopulation, Bill Gates now warns that bioterrorism might kill 30 million more
… the not-so-hidden agenda that lies behind the Gates Foundation is often glossed over, especially by the mainstream media. Gates and his foundation have consistently come under fire for their aspirations of depopulation, and now the same man who essentially has made it a goal to eliminate humans is lecturing the rest of us about bioterrorism?
Court Lets Trump ‘Pause’ Lawsuit On Obama’s Climate Plan
A federal court agreed Friday to President Donald Trump’s request to pause litigation over the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision makes it easier for the Trump administration to repeal CPP, which was intended to limit carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants to slow global warming.
Trump Declares ‘Eight-Year Assault on Second Amendment’ Over
On Friday, President Trump delivered a speech to the National Rifle Association at its 2017 Leadership Forum in Atlanta. This marks the first time a sitting president has done so since Ronald Reagan in 1983.