Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a final bid to shore up right-wing support ahead of a knife-edge vote on Tuesday, said he would not permit a Palestinian state to be created under his watch if he is re-elected. Trailing his centre-left opponent Isaac Herzog in opinion polls, the three-term leader has sought to shift […] Continue reading → 
An upset victory by Israel’s centre-left opposition in Tuesday’s election could be a welcome change for a business and corporate sector eager for the “peace dividend” that might come with a government willing to talk with the Palestinians. Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party is traditionally viewed as more pro-business, leading industrialists say […] Continue reading → 
Almost a quarter of the U.S. Congress, along with President George W. Bush and President Obama, were in Selma, Ala., Saturday for the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march that led to the 1965 voting rights act. At a time of polarized politics in Washington, this celebration is a moment of political unity. It […] Continue reading → 
Kiev accused Russia on Friday of sending more tanks and troops into eastern Ukraine and said they were heading towards the rebel-held town of Novoazovsk on the southern coast, expanding their presence on what it fears could be the next battlefront. Russia did not immediately respond to the accusation which, if confirmed, would go further […] Continue reading → 
Ukraine’s rebels disavowed a new truce on Sunday hours after it took effect, saying it did not apply to the town where most fighting has taken place in recent weeks. Guns fell abruptly silent at midnight across much of eastern Ukraine in line with the ceasefire agreement, reached after a week of diplomacy led by […] Continue reading → 
Shelling suddenly stopped at midnight in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk after President Petro Poroshenko gave the order to government forces to cease firing at midnight in line with a peace agreement reached last Thursday. Reuters correspondent Anton Zverev reported heavy artillery and rocket fire roughly every five seconds in the run-up to ceasefire […] Continue reading → 
Ukraine and Russian-backed rebel fought fiercely for control of a strategic railway junction on Friday despite a new peace deal brokered by Germany and France. A ceasefire is due to come into effect from Sunday under the agreement, which also envisages a withdrawal of the heavy weaponry responsible for many of the more than 5,000 […] Continue reading → 
The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine have agreed a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine, participants at the summit talks said on Thursday. The deal reached after all-night negotiations in the Belarussian capital Minsk included a ceasefire that would come into effect on Feb. 15, followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons. […] Continue reading → 
The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France may be close to agreement following all-night talks on resolving the Ukraine conflict, diplomatic sources said on Thursday. Details remained unclear after more than 12 hours of peace talks in the Belarus capital Minsk, with one source saying there was hope agreement could reached and another saying […] Continue reading → 
On Sunday morning I took part in a panel discussion on relations between Russia and the European Union. As the rest of Berlin was still getting out of bed, more than a hundred people turned up for the event, mostly elderly Germans who will never forget the trauma and shame of World War II. One […] Continue reading → 
Like many other Americans, I have always had a desire to travel to Israel and visit firsthand the many historical sites of spiritual significance. I was recently afforded the opportunity to fulfill that desire and was not disappointed. In addition to being greatly inspired, I spoke with numerous Israeli citizens from a variety of backgrounds. […] Continue reading → 
Israeli aircraft bombed a Hamas militant base in the Gaza Strip on Friday for the first time since the end of a war in the territory, in response to a rocket that militants launched earlier in the day, the army said. The bombs struck in the Khan Younis area in the southern Gaza Strip. Local […] Continue reading →