position:prime minister

UKIP mistakes famous cathedral for mosque — RT UK
▻http://rt.com/uk/209363-ukip-mosque-westminster-cathedral

The BBC program was conducting a public poll outside the cathedral, asking the public whether [UKIP leader] Nigel Farage has what it takes to become prime minister.

However, when the program tweeted its report, South Thanet’s UKIP group responded: “Perfect place to hold vote in front of a mosque in London. The BBC’s random means selective.”

It was only when the program’s producer, Giles Dinot, alongside other Twitter users, drew the gaffe to the group’s attention that the tweet was deleted.

Évidemment, la twittosphère se lâche…

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B3cFBw4CIAAuAJ4.jpg

#thingsthatarenotamosque (it’s OK UKIP, you can go inside!)

Israel’s security brass: Abbas blocking Palestinian uprising -
While Netanyahu and his cabinet blame the Palestinian president for the recent Jerusalem terror wave, senior defense officials see him as the primary hope for mitigating the hostilities.
By Amos Harel | Nov. 24, 2014 Haaretz
▻http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.628118

f you compare the declarations made in recent days by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers to the assessments of the heads of the security services, you might get the impression that each group is operating in its own alternative reality, one totally divorced from that the of other group. While Netanyahu and his ministers are describing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as bearing the primary responsibility for the recent outbreak of terror in Jerusalem, senior defense officials still see him as the primary hope for preventing this confrontation from spreading throughout the West Bank.

After the Har Nof synagogue massacre last week, Economy Minister Naftali Bennett went so far as to call Abbas one of the greatest terrorists ever produced by the Palestinian people. Over the weekend, in a Channel 2 interview, Bennett called on Israel to stop talking about occupation and to launch an anti-terror offensive in Jerusalem and the territories. Bennett’s remarks about Abbas, like similar ones made by other ministers, were in sharp contrast to the declaration by Shin Bet security service head Yoram Cohen that Abbas is not encouraging terror, overtly or covertly.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon tried to bridge this gap by arguing that Cohen’s remarks to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee were leaked to the media in a distorted fashion for political reasons. Ya’alon added: “Abu Mazen [Abbas] fears the possibility of terror in the West Bank because he understands that he will be deposed by it. On the other hand, one cannot ignore his incitement with regard to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem. There is no contradiction here: On the one hand, Abbas is not masterminding terror. On the other hand, [he] is inciting violence in Jerusalem.”

The heads of the security services are less critical of Abbas. Somewhat unusually, there is a broad consensus among them; they are categorically against collective punishment in East Jerusalem and the West Bank and oppose bringing Israel Defense Forces soldiers into the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem (something Bennett is demanding outright), while agreeing that the religious component of the conflict – the dispute over the Temple Mount, but also the inspiration coming from the Islamic State’s atrocities – is gaining weight, though it hasn’t overwhelmed the Palestinian anger over the continuing occupation.

Anniversaire du début de #Maïdan : signature de l’accord de coalition

Pro-Western parties sign historic coalition agreement
▻http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv/pro-western-parties-sign-historic-coalition-agreement-372667.html

One year after the start of the EuroMaidan Revolution that drove President Viktor Yanukovych from power on Feb. 21, five political parties elected on Oct. 26 to Ukraine’s parliament have signed a coalition agreement bringing the country closer to the West and committing it to pursuing European Union integration and NATO membership. 

Five of the six parties parties elected to the Rada in the Oct. 26 parliamentary election joined the broad coalition, including the Bloc of President Petro Poroshenko, the People’s Front led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Samopomich (Self-Help) party, Oleh Lyashko’s Radical Party and Batkivshchyna led by ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. 

Only two of the parties, Batkivshcyhna and the Radical Party, existed a year ago.

http://www.kyivpost.com/media/images/2014/11/21/p1979et0i63i8t18qe1bpol9h4/big.jpg

“An obvious question is why, given the huge pressures being felt now on Ukraine, did it take reform politicians more than one month after parliamentary elections to forge this coalition,” said Timothy Ash, head of emerging market research for Standard Bank in London.

In the coming weeks one of the main tests for the new parliament is whether it can resist the backdoor deals and political horse trading that have defined previous Ukrainian parliaments.

#c'est_y_pas_beau ?
et
#maquignonnage

Le nouveau gouvernement ukrainien, c’est pour tout bientôt…

Yatsenyuk emphasizes unity with Poroshenko as Biden visits again
▻http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/yatsenyuk-emphasizes-unity-with-poroshenko-as-biden-visits-again-372593.ht

Hours before a potentially critical visit by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden to Kyiv, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk moved to dispel persistent rumors of political discord with President Petro Poroshenko.

Yatsenyuk told a news conference in Kyiv on Nov. 20 that a coalition agreement led by their respective factions in parliament – along with three other parties – will be signed soon. He said that he met with Poroshenko on Nov. 19 and said the “final draft is being written by key political factions.”

He predicted the deal among his People’s Front party, Poroshenko’s bloc, the Samopomich (Self-Help) party, the bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko and Oleh Lyashko’s Radical Party will be completed by the end of November, about a month after the Oct. 26 parliamentary election.

En attendant, Iatseniouk a un programme chargé :

Yatsenyuk mentioned two key meetings ahead – one on Nov. 20 with the head of state-run Naftogaz on possible purchase of Russian natural gas, for which prepayment is required. The other, of course, in coming days is with the International Monetary Fund, which has a visiting delegation. There is a consensus that the IMF’s $17 billion, two-year loan package is inadequate, and some economists think the low-interest loan package should be doubled.

Et, entre les deux, la visite de Joe Biden (sa troisième en 2014) et Victoria Nuland (sa dernière visite était il y a tout petit peu plus de six semaines).

Yatsenyuk names his government candidates
▻http://www.kyivpost.com/content/politics/yatsenyuk-names-his-government-candidates-371891.html

Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has named his candidates for the new government.

The list of the candidates was published on the Cabinet of Ministries’ official website on Nov. 14.

Bientôt 3 semaines de manœuvres/négociations. Iatseniouk s’impatienterait-il ? Dans son choix, il conserve l’Intérieur et la Justice aux titulaires actuels, membres de son parti, et laisse Défense et Affaires étrangères à la discrétion de Porochenko…

Egypte : Pourquoi le PM Mahlab exhorte les Égyptiens à faire moins d’enfants - Ahram Online

▻http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/114942/Egypt/Politics-/PM-Mahlab-urges-Egyptians-to-limit-reproduction-ra.aspx

Sur @OrientXXI La natalité repart à la hausse ▻http://orientxxi.info/magazine/egypte-la-natalite-repart-a-la,0537

Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab called on Egyptians to work towards reducing reproduction rates in an effort to curb ongoing population growth that he said further strains a stretched state budget.

Egypt’s population of 87 million has increased threefold in the period between 1950 to 2000, exceeding the country’s economic growth, Mahlab told a population and development conference on Thursday.

Reports reveal that Egyptian population has increased by 25 million since 2000, with a birth rate exceeding 2.6 million over the past year, Mahlab said, further besetting an already ailing economy that faces a crippling budget deficit of around 11 percent of GDP.

Thursday saw the launch of a new 2015-2030 population and development strategy that is geared towards spurring Egyptian families to “bear their responsibility in controlling reproduction rates" so the country can provide quality basic services and job opportunities for all citizens.

Egypt’s economic growth rate over the past three years, marked by political turmoil since the 2011 uprising, was around 2 percent.

The Egyptian finance minister has said the country aims for economic growth of at least 4 percent in the coming year.

“Population growth exceeding economic growth rate, not matched by sufficient natural resources or the ability to provide the basic needs of citizens with high quality…pulls us backward instead of helping us go forward and progress,” Mahlab said.

Cars out of Taksim, Turkey’s new economic plan says
▻http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/cars-out-of-taksim-turkeys-new-economic-plan-says.aspx?pageID=238

The Turkish government’s new economic plan stipulates a policy that would introduce a fee on motor vehicles in metropolitan city centers, including Istanbul’s Taksim neighborhood.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu announced nine of the 25 transformational economic programs at a press conference Nov. 6. Besides ambitious macroeconomic targets, like increasing Turkey’s GDP from $800 billion to $1.3 trillion by 2018, Davutoğlu said the first nine-point plan includes 417 action plans that will affect the daily lives of citizens.

Some of the proposed policies on transportation have sparked public debate. To decrease energy inefficiency and traffic congestion, particularly in Istanbul and Ankara, the government’s plan involves limiting motor vehicle presence in city centers like Taksim and Kızılay. Those using automobiles will pay a fee to travel in these areas with a new system called Smart Transportation System (AUS), according to the plan.

#Transport_urbain
#Péage
#Turquie

Agence France-Presse : Ukraine creates de facto border around separatist zone
▻http://news.yahoo.com/ukraines-warring-sides-trade-blame-school-shelling-002533611.html

Ukraine announced passport controls around pro-Russian separatist territories Thursday, as heavy artillery fire erupted in rebel-held Donetsk and Russia accused its neighbour of “crudely” violating the ceasefire.

Ukraine’s border guards service said anyone crossing in or out of rebel areas will now have to present a passport. Foreigners will “be sent to filtration points to determine the purpose of their visit” and will have “to show a passport or the required visa,” a statement said.

GEESKA AFRIKA ONLINE The Horn of Africa Intelligence News Group » Ethiopia: Kuwait fund for “Food Security Project Proposal”
▻http://www.geeskaafrika.com/ethiopia-kuwait-fund-for-food-security-project-proposal/6107

Foreign Minister, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, led an Ethiopian delegation in cluding the Ministers of Finance and Agriculture to Kuwait over the weekend. Dr. Tedros delivered the “Food Security Project Proposal” from Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jabir Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, in accordance with the discussions the two leaders had held at the Africa- Arab Summit last year.
The Amir welcomed the proposal, noting that food security was crucial to Kuwait, to Ethiopia and to the international community. Dr. Tedros congratulated the Amir of the State of Kuwait in his designation in September as a ‘Humanitarian Leader’ by the United Nations Secretary General and of the State of Kuwait as a ‘Humanitarian Center’.

Israeli finance minister vetoed spending on Jewish settlements - FT.com
▻http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f3787098-60df-11e4-894b-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=crm/email/20141031/nbe/WorldNews/product&siteedition=intl#axzz3HpSRgHYM

Israel’s finance minister said he vetoed new spending on infrastructure for Jewish settlements in the West Bank after an “angry meeting” at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, and criticised the timing of the recent announcements on building plans that have inflamed tensions with Palestinians and the US.
Yair Lapid, head of the centre-right Yesh Atid party in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition, said he had refused a funding request worth Shk200m to Shk300m ($53m-$79m) for roads and other projects deep inside the occupied West Bank that would have “caused an international crisis”

Israeli teachers balk at state curriculum on Rabin: No mention of Yigal Amir

Several schools contacted by Haaretz said they aren’t using the ministry kits and are preparing their own lessons on democracy and public controversies.
By Yarden Skop | Nov. 4, 2014 Haaretz
▻http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/.premium-1.624494

Many teachers are not using the study kits provided by the Education Ministry to mark this week’s anniversary of the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, saying the kits focus too much on Rabin himself and barely touch on the circumstances of his assassination.

Teachers say the materials, prepared by the Education Ministry’s Headquarters for Civic Education and Shared Living, together with the Yitzhak Rabin Center, don’t describe the background to the assassination, don’t mention the events that preceded it, and don’t even mention assassin Yigal Amir’s name.

The kits, entitled “What to remember? How to remember?” only hint at the history in the introduction. For example, “The murder of Yitzhak Rabin has a significant place in shaping the identity of Israeli society, because it serves as a warning sign to all of us, attesting to what is liable to happen if we allow disagreements to threaten the joint social fabric.”

There is also a reference to the events of this past summer, which included “harsh responses of intolerance, racism, and violence that went as far as undermining public order and the rule of law. These serious phenomena, like the expressions of incitement that preceding Rabin’s murder, strengthen the need for us as a society to observe the limits of discourse even during a dispute, and not to lapse as a society into acts of extreme violence that put our existence as a Jewish and democratic state at risk.”

Yet none of these issues come up in the activities the kits suggest be conducted with the pupils.

“Based on these materials, Rabin was a great guy, a nice guy, and suddenly he was murdered,” said I., a principal in the Sharon region. “It isn’t clear from the materials why he was murdered. Maybe he was on the street and got caught in a gang war; maybe he owed someone money – we don’t know who killed him. We don’t know the background to his murder. There’s just a vague statement that he wanted peace and for that he was murdered.”

N., a teacher in a northern elementary school added, “I think that the issue has to be not the man himself but democracy. The kits talk about the person. … It gets worse every year, this dealing with the person and not the substance of the issue. For young children it’s especially important to speak about how to resolve conflicts and disagreements.”

R., a teacher in Jerusalem, agrees that the kits lack historic background, but thinks they still have a positive side. “What’s good about the kits is that they leave a lot of room for the pupil; they don’t preach but remain open for his approach. … I like the way they raise the dilemma of whether there even should be a memorial day and how to mark it, because the kids talk about this.”

Several schools contacted by Haaretz said they aren’t using the ministry kits and are preparing their own lessons on democracy and public controversies. Some schools, primarily ultra-Orthodox and state religious schools, don’t hold any special lessons or events related to Rabin at all.

The Education Ministry said, “Every year another topic is chosen for the focus of the class materials. This year it was decided to deal with the issue of remembering the various aspects of the life and work of Yitzhak Rabin the leader, so that the younger generation could get to know him.”

Israël - Inédit : 106 généraux de l’armée, directeurs du Mossad et membres de la police écrivent à Netanyahu pour lui demander de relancer le processus de paix - Haaretz

▻http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.624251

In what appears to be the largest-ever joint protest by senior Israeli security personnel, a group of 106 retired generals, Mossad directors and national police commissioners has signed a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to “initiate a diplomatic process” based on a regional framework for peace with the Palestinians.

Several of the signers told Israel’s Mako-Channel 2 News in interviews that Israel had the strength and the means to reach a two-state solution that “doesn’t entail a security risk,” but hadn’t managed to reach an agreement because of “weak leadership.”

“We’re on a steep slope toward an increasingly polarized society and moral decline, due to the need to keep millions of people under occupation on claims that are presented as security-related,” reserve Major General Eyal Ben-Reuven told Mako’s Roni Daniel. “I have no doubt that the prime minister seeks Israel’s welfare, but I think he suffers from some sort of political blindness that drives him to scare himself and us.”

The letter was initiated by a former Armored Corps commander, reserve Maj. Gen. Amnon Reshef. He told Yedioth Ahronoth in an interview published Friday, and posted in English on Yedioth’s Ynetnews.com website, that he was “tired of a reality of rounds of fighting every few years instead of a genuine effort to adopt the Saudi initiative.”

He was referring to the Saudi-backed peace proposal that was adopted unanimously by the Arab League in 2002 (here is the full text) and later endorsed 56-0 by the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, with Iran abstaining. It has since been repeatedly reaffirmed and its terms softened. As currently framed, it offers full peace, diplomatic recognition and “normal relations” between the Arab states and Israel in return for Israeli withdrawal to borders based on the pre-1967 armistice lines, with negotiated land swaps, and a “just” and mutually “agreed” compromise solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.

The generals’ call echoes a proposal for a regional peace conference that was floated during the Gaza war this summer by Israel’s science minister, Yaakov Peri, a member of Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party and a former director of the Shin Bet security service. It’s currently being advocated within the security cabinet by Lapid and justice minister Tzipi Livni.

Netanyahu takes the position that Palestinian statehood at this juncture would imperil Israel’s security.

Retired generals have occasionally made joint statements in the past, but never in such numbers and rarely on political matters that aren’t directly related to army business. In January 2012, 52 ex-generals signed a petition calling for legislation to require military or equivalent national service for Haredi men. In November 2011, 19 ex-generals called on IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz to combat growing religious extremism in the army. In February 2010, 15 ex-generals signed a statement criticizing “leftist organizations,” including the New Israel Fund, that they said had damaged the IDF by aiding the Goldstone Report.

The 106 signers of the current letter to Netanyanu include 101 IDF veterans with the rank of brigadier or major general, as well as two former chiefs of the Mossad intelligence agency and three former commanders of Israel’s National Police. (Yediot’s report, which preceded Mako, gave a total of 105.)

The generals’ letter apparently doesn’t refer directly to the Arab Peace Initiative (I haven’t seen the letter’s full text yet), but in calling for a regional process it appears to rely on the willingness of the Saudis and Egyptians to sponsor a conference leading to negotiated peace that renders “the Arab-Israeli conflict ended,” based on the initiative.

The purpose of enlisting the neighboring Arab states is to give the Palestinian leadership backing and legitimacy to accept compromises it has failed to embrace on its own in bilateral talks.

Here are the portions of the letter published by Yedioth (translation by Ynetnews):

We, the undersigned, reserve IDF commanders and retired police officers, who have fought in Israel’s military campaigns, know first-hand of the heavy and painful price exacted by wars.

We fought bravely for the country in the hope that our children would live here in peace, but we got a sharp reality check [literal translation: “but reality slapped us in the face” — jjg], and here we are again sending our children out onto the battlefield, watching them don their uniforms and combat vests and go out to fight in Operation Protective Edge…

This is not a question of left or right. What we have here is an alternative option for resolving the conflict that is not based solely on bilateral negotiations with the Palestinians, which have failed time and again… We expect a show of courageous initiative and leadership from you. Lead – and we will stand behind you.

#Libya PM says ready for dialogue with rivals
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/libya-pm-says-ready-dialogue-rivals

Libya’s internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani said Wednesday he was ready to talk to militias who control most of his country if “all sides” made concessions. Al-Thani’s government took refuge in the remote eastern town of of Tobruk in August after Islamist-led militia seized the capital #Tripoli and then set up a rival administration. “We open the doors of dialogue with our brothers on the condition that there be concessions from all sides,” he told reporters at Khartoum airport as he ended a three-day visit to #Sudan. read more

Ukraine Coalition Talks Start as Russia Sends Aid to East - Businessweek
▻http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-10-27/ukraine-coalition-talks-start-as-russia-weighs-east-pleas

Ukrainian parties that advocate closer European ties began talks on forging a coalition as Russia said it will send a fourth convoy to the easternmost regions torn by a separatist rebellion.

President Petro Poroshenko, who said coalition talks should take no more than 10 days, yesterday met with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy, the leaders of the People’s Front and the Samopomich party, two of the biggest pro-European blocs.

The pro-European parties may have won enough seats in the Oct. 26 election to gain a two-thirds constitutional majority after sweeping aside the Russian-leaning political forces that are more popular in the nation’s war-ravaged east.

Yatsenyuk, Klimkin discuss Ukraine’s energy security with US senator
▻http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/yatseniuk-klimkin-discuss-ukraines-energy-security-with-us-senator-369773.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Tuesday, Oct. 28 held a meeting with U.S. Senator and Deputy Head of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee James Inhofe during which the sides discussed energy security and the strengthening of military cooperation, the Ukrainian government’s press service has reported.

Ukraine, Russia and Europe’s bloody borders - FT.com
▻http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2c168540-5dc3-11e4-897f-00144feabdc0.html

Somebody born in Lviv in 1914, who died in 1992 and never moved out of the city, would have lived in five different countries during the course of a lifetime. In 1914, Lviv, then called Lemberg, was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire; by 1919 it was part of Poland and became Lwow; in 1941 it was occupied by the Germans; after 1945, the city was incorporated into the Soviet Union; and then in 1991 it became part of newly independent Ukraine.
Most of these changes were accompanied by warfare and bloodshed. So when it was suggested last week that, a few years ago, Russian president Vladimir Putin had proposed to Donald Tusk, then Polish prime minister, that Ukraine should be partitioned once again – with Russia claiming the eastern territories, and Poland Lviv and other parts of western Ukraine – there was an uproar.
(…)
But there are other influential voices who think that even tacitly accepting that Europe’s borders can once again be redrawn by military force would be a disastrous mistake. Carl Bildt, who has just stepped down as Sweden’s foreign minister, puts it bluntly: “The borders of Europe are more or less all drawn in blood through centuries of brutal conflict.” Allowing these borders to be redrawn, he thinks, would be an invitation “for the blood to start flowing again”.
(…)
If the dismemberment of Ukraine began in earnest, others might be tempted to join in. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, referred to in some other EU capitals as a “mini-Balkan Putin”, has made clear he regards the loss of two-thirds of Hungarian land after the first world war as a tragedy. Parts of historic Hungary now lie across the border in Ukraine – as well as in Slovakia, Serbia and Romania. If Ukraine really began to fall apart, even some Poles might be tempted by the idea of the return of Lviv.
(…)
The Russians argue that it is actually the west that started this dangerous process with Nato’s intervention in the Kosovo war of 1999, and the subsequent recognition in 2008 of Kosovo as an independent state. That process remains controversial, even within the EU. But Kosovo, unlike Crimea, was not incorporated into a neighbouring country. It was a province of the former Yugoslavia that sought independence. Within that process, the border between Serbia and Kosovo remained unaltered. The Kosovo war also took place in the context of the many years of fighting that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia.
However, the Balkan wars of the 1990s are relevant to Ukraine in one sense. They revealed how much blood can flow once Europe’s borders begin to crumble.

Éditorial de Gideon Rachman

lien du FT fourni par le copier/coller ▻http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c168540-5dc3-11e4-897f-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3HRrTsAIZ

Lebanese Army offensive in the north not a war against Sunnis: Rifi
▻http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Oct-26/275379-lebanese-army-offensive-in-the-north-not-a-war-against-sunnis-r

quoique...,

“... Although we have a feeling that someone is hiding behind institutions to push for strife, and we condemn this,...

Jerusalem is divided, and Netanyahu remains out of touch
The prime minister and his policies aren’t the only reasons for the intifada that has been raging in Jerusalem in recent months, but they made a decisive contribution to it.
By Barak Ravid | Oct. 24, 2014 |Haaretz
▻http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.622506

A petty spat between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Energy and Water Resources Minister Silvan Shalom at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting was one of those rare moments in which politicians say what they really think. After Netanyahu said that welders earn a lot of money these days, a furious Shalom told him he was disconnected from the Israeli reality.

“You didn’t grow up here and didn’t study here,” Shalom said. “You don’t know how things work.”

Netanyahu’s fighting words about “united Jerusalem” on Thursday reflect that same disconnect from reality Shalom cited. For the last five years, and perhaps even longer, he hasn’t really lived in this city. He knows Jerusalem only from driving in armed convoys between his official residence in the Rehavia neighborhood and government offices, or from his annual walk to the Great Synagogue on Yom Kippur.

So what Jerusalem is Netanyahu talking about? The eternal capital of Israel that will never be divided exists mainly in his pompous speeches and the press statements issued by his bureau. The reality that has arisen on the ground in Jerusalem over the last decade is completely different: a physically divided city, some of whose neighborhoods are cut in two by the high separation wall, and whose Palestinian residents suffer from neglect and discrimination.

Netanyahu and his policies aren’t the only reason for the intifada that has been raging in Jerusalem in recent months, but they made a decisive contribution to it. Sometimes, Netanyahu deliberately took steps that heightened the tension, like massive construction for Jews in the eastern part of the city. Other times, he was dragged in the wake of nongovernmental organizations like Elad and Ateret Cohanim, which established Jewish settlements in the heart of crowded Palestinian neighborhoods.

Former Qatari PM has eyes on top UN job - Telegraph
▻http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11172018/Former-Qatari-PM-has-eyes-on-top-UN-job.html

According to reports from the Gulf, Qatar’s new emir is “looking into politically compensating his former prime minister” by pushing him forward as Secretary General. It is claimed that when Mr Ban was given the position in 2006, Qatar supported his candidacy. At the time, Qatar’s influence as a diplomatic power was growing in the Middle East and beyond.

Insatiables Qataris, le Mondial de foot ne leur suffit plus !

#qatar_bashing

In Egypt, an authoritarian regime holds sway again | Ahdaf Soueif | Comment is free | The Observer

▻http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/19/cairo-egypt-government-crackdown-adhaf-soueif

Nine thirty pm in Cairo and sounds of intermittent explosions come through the living-room window. Most people can identify them, but I can’t – yet. They might be gunfire, or teargas – or fireworks. And fireworks might be people celebrating a wedding, or fighting the police, or setting off fireworks for fun. So I carry on with what I’m doing: writing a letter that a young prisoner’s sister may be able to give to him when she visits him tomorrow. It’s just a comfort letter, really, to remind him that he’s not forgotten, that many of us on the outside have made it our mission to get him and others like him out of jail.

Since 30 June 2013, some 40,000 people have been arrested and 16,000 of them remain in prison. The majority probably belong to the now outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, of whom some will have committed acts of violence; most will not. The rest, maybe 8,000 or 9,000, are split between revolutionary activists and bystanders caught up in police dragnets and used to make up required figures.

Pas encore libres, mais déjà indépendants (ou pas) : Saudi-Qatar rivalry divides Syria opposition again : Failure to elect new PM
▻http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=68478

Syria’s main opposition bloc failed to agree on a prime minister during a weekend summit in Turkey, participants said, the latest setback for a coalition long beset by internal divisions.

A member of the National Coalition who declined to be named said the biggest dispute at the Istanbul meeting centred around a split between the favoured candidates of vital funders Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The official said that out of 13 hopefuls the two frontrunners were former agriculture minister Walid al-Zohbi – seen as being close to Riyadh – and Ahmad Tohme, the provisional head of the coalition who is reportedly backed by Doha.

“Qatar made clear that its financial support to the coalition would end if Tohme was not re-elected,” another participant said.

Right-wing governing coalition wins parliamentary elections in Latvia - World Socialist Web Site

▻http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/10/10/latv-o10.html

The right-wing government of Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma looks likely once again to form the government in Riga following parliamentary elections on Saturday. The prime minister’s declared goals are a continuation of severe austerity measures and an intensification of the confrontation with Russia.

As in 2010, the party with the largest vote was the pro-Russian Harmony Centre led by Riga mayor Nils Usakovs, which won 23 percent of the vote. In 2011, it received 28 percent of the vote. The members of the right-wing government coalition—Straujuma’s Unity Party, the nationalist National Alliance, and the Union of Greens and Farmers—together won 60 percent.

#lettonie #élection cc @inta

#Libya, #Egypt to coordinate on countering terrorism
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/libya-egypt-coordinate-countering-terrorism

Libya and Egypt are coordinating on border security and training army and police with a view to countering terrorism, Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni said Wednesday. Addressing a joint press conference with Egyptian counterpart Ibrahim Mahlab, al-Thinni said the two states were cooperating to enhance the fighting capabilities of the Libyan army and training police forces in all fields. “Terrorism is widespread all across the region,” al-Thinni asserted. read more

There are still going on discussions about prime minister and ministers in the new parliament in Latvia. Unofficial information says that Laimdota Straujuma will remain in the post of prime minister. Party “Unity” (Vienotība) would like to have at least minister of Finances and minister of Foreign Affairs from their party.

Koalīcija vienojas par Straujumu premjeres amatā un vairākiem ministru posteņiem :: Diena.lv
▻http://www.diena.lv/latvija/politika/koalicija-vienojas-par-straujumu-premjeres-amata-un-vairakiem-ministru-posteni

Zaļo un zemnieku savienība (ZZS) un Nacionālā apvienība (NA) atbalsta Vienotības piedāvāto premjera amata kandidatūras - pašreizējās Ministru prezidentes Laimdotas Straujumas - virzīšanu šajā amatā, pirmdien nolemts koalīcijas veidošanas sarunās.
Vienotība jaunajā valdībā pretendē uz premjera, finanšu ministra un ārlietu ministra amatiem. Iespējams, Vienotība uzņemsies arī veselības ministra amatu. ZZS pārziņā būtu Zemkopības ministrijas, Labklājības ministrijas un Aizsardzības ministrijas vadība, pavēstīja ZZS frakcijas vadītājs Augusts Brigmanis.

#Latvia #Elections2014 #Unity #Vienotība #Coalition #LaimdotaStraujuma

The facts about buying land in Jerusalem’s latest settlement - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/israeli-arabs-apartments-east-west-jerusalem-national-lands.html#

▻http://www.al-monitor.com/files/live/sites/almonitor/files/images/almpics/2014/10/RTR48NP9.jpg?t=thumbnail_570

Last week’s events in New York and Jerusalem took me back six years to an isolated farm on the outskirts of Oxford, England. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Sept. 29 UN declaration referred to ’’new opportunities’’ for regional peace. His government promoted construction plans in Givat Hamatos, a Jerusalem neighborhood across the Green Line, while the Jewish settlement in the East Jerusalem Arab neighborhood Silwan expanded. The combination reminded me of an Israeli-Arab meeting held in Oxford in October 2008.

#jérusalem #colonisation #occupation