Russia says it’s ready to resume US deal to avoid Syria clashes

Coast guard searching for man feared drowned in Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee coast guard is searching for a man feared drowned after he went missing in the northern Israeli lake, Ynet reports.

The man was last seen on an inflatable raft. Another Israeli man who was with him on the raft managed to swim to safety.

Melania Trump wins damages from Daily Mail publisher

US First Lady Melania Trump has accepted an apology and damages from the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper for reporting rumors about her time as a model.

Trump sued the Daily Mail in Britain and Mail Online in the United States over the August 2016 article. The first lady’s attorneys argued that the report damaged her ability to build businesses based on her status as a “successful businesswoman.”

In a joint statement Wednesday, the parties said the Mail retracted its false statements that Trump “provided services beyond simply modeling” and agreed to pay damages and costs. The amount was not specified.

As part of the settlement the Mail published an apology, saying “we accept that these allegations about Mrs. Trump are not true and we retract and withdraw them.”

— AP

Yad Vashem says Spicer’s remarks embolden Holocaust deniers

The Yad Vashem Holocaust museum says White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s comments implying Syrian President Bashar Assad was worse than Adolf Hitler “strengthen the hands of those whose goal is to distort history.”

In a statement, Yad Vashem “expresses deep concern regarding the inaccurate and insensitive use of terms related to the Holocaust by the White House Press Secretary.”

The Jerusalem-based memorial center invites the press secretary to visit its website in order to “learn about the Holocaust and its period in history.”

Merkel calls Dortmund bus bomb ‘a repugnant act’

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman condemns the explosions targeting the Borussia Dortmund team bus as “a repugnant act” and says the German leader has spoken with the club’s chief executive.

Spokesman Steffen Seibert tells reporters that Merkel was “dismayed” by the attack. He said Merkel spoke by phone with Dortmund’s Hans-Joachim Watzke and wished the team “all the best.”

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere plans to attend the rescheduled Champions League quarterfinal match against Monaco on Wednesday evening. Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate said that he was traveling to Dortmund as a sign of solidarity.

German federal prosecutors say they have taken up investigations of the attack.

— AP

Second person dies in Negev car crash

Doctors at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center pronounced a man dead after he was fatally wounded in a car crash south of the city earlier today, Ynet reports.

He was the second person to die in the crash. The first, a woman, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A second woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition, where she received treatment in the trauma center, a hospital spokesperson says.

Trump says US not going to get involved in Syria

President Donald Trump says the US is not going to get involved in Syria but that he had to act because of chemical attacks there.

His comments, air on Fox Business News, come less than a week after Trump ordered a retaliatory strike on Syria based on US evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad attacked civilians with chemical weapons.

Trump says, “When I saw that, I said we have to do something.”

But he also appeared to rule out deeper involvement, saying: “Are we going to get involved with Syria? No.”

Trump also warns that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in backing Assad, is supporting someone who is “truly an evil person.” That, Trump says, is “very bad for Russia” and “very bad for mankind” and the world.

— AP

1,841 people visit Temple Mount, 3 kicked off

Police say they removed three Jewish visitors from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for “violating the rules for visiting” the holy site.

The police did not say what exactly the men did, but they likely prayed while visiting the Old City location.

Today, some 1,841 people went up to the Temple Mount, 1,481 of them foreign tourists.

In the Jewish tradition, Passover is one of three holidays marked by visiting the Temple. Though the Temple was destroyed nearly 2,000 years ago, some religious people still commemorate the holiday by visiting the mount where it once stood.

Another person goes missing in the Sea of Galilee

Police are searching for another person, a young man, who went missing in the Sea of Galilee after his raft popped, police say.

Another young man who was on the raft with him was rescued by police, a spokesperson says.

He is the second young man to go missing in the Sea of Galilee today after falling off an inflatable raft.

“Searches are being carried out for the two missing people, aged 17 and 21,” police say.

One ‘Islamist’ suspect detained over Dortmund bus blasts

One ‘Islamist’ suspect was detained over the Dortmund bus blasts in Germany, a state prosecutor says.

— AFP

Police identify 2 suspects in Dortmund bombing case

German prosecutors say a letter found near the scene of the Dortmund team bus blasts suggests a possible Islamic extremist motive for the attack, and one suspect has been taken into custody.

Frauke Koehler, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors, says two suspects from the “Islamist spectrum” have become the focus of the Dortmund investigation. She says at a news conference that both of their apartments were searched and one of them has been detained.

She says the letter at the attack site demands the withdrawal of German Tornado reconnaissance jets from Turkey and the closure of the United States’ Ramstein Air Base in Germany. She said authorities are still evaluating its credibility.

Koehler says authorities have “significant doubts” about another claim online giving a left-wing extremist motive for the attack.

— AP

Germany denounces Spicer’s Hitler comparisons

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman says contemporary comparisons with Nazi atrocities are generally ill-advised, after White House press secretary Sean Spicer apologized for an “insensitive” Hitler analogy.

“Any comparison of current situations with the crimes of National Socialism leads to nothing good,” the spokesman, Steffen Seibert, tells reporters when asked about Spicer’s remarks.

— AFP

Liberman bashes UN for silence on Palestinians killed in Gaza, Lebanon

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman chastises UN envoy to the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov for not commenting on recent cases of Palestinians being executed in Lebanon and Gaza, saying it showed the “hypocrisy and double standards” the world has against Israel.

Last week, five people were killed in clashes at the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon. Three Palestinians were also hanged to death in Gaza by Hamas for allegedly “collaborating” with Israel.

“The international community’s disregard for the dozens of people killed and injured again proves its hypocrisy and double standards by which the world operates, in which it overlooks serious cases like these, while on the other hand, it denounces every justified action taken by Israel against terrorism,” Liberman says, according to his office.

The defense minister adds that he expects the executions and deaths of these Palestinians to be discussed in an upcoming Security Council meeting.

Afghan officials: Suicide bomber strikes in Kabul

An Afghan official says a suicide bomber detonated his payload near government offices in the capital.

Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, says it was not yet clear how many people might have been killed or wounded in the blast in central Kabul. He says the target of the attack is also unclear.

Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Mujro says at least two people were wounded in the attack.

No one has claimed responsibility, but the Taliban frequently target the US-backed government and its security forces.

— AFP

Spicer, on Holocaust comparison: ‘I let the president down’

White House spokesperson Sean Spicer apologizes for comments he made comparing Syrian President Bashar Assad to Adolf Hitler, saying it was an “inexcusable” mistake.

Spicer is speaking at the Newseum in Washington, DC, as part of the First Amendment forum.

“I let the president down,” the White House spokesperson says.

“This was mine to own, mine to apologize for,” he adds.

Yesterday, Spicer said “someone as despicable as Hitler who didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons,” in reference to an apparent sarin gas attack carried out by Assad’s forces last week.

Recalling the millions of Jews gassed to death with Zyklon B in the Holocaust, many expressed outrage at Spicer’s remarks,

Names of people killed in Negev crash released

The names of the two people killed in a car crash south of Beersheba have been released.

Hussam Huashla, 24, from near the southern town of Dimona, and Timna Shwiki, 23, from Hadera, were identified as the women killed in the crash.

A second woman, whose name has yet to be released, was also injured in the wreck. She is being treated at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center.

Russia to veto UN resolution against Syria chemical attack

Russian media says Moscow plans to veto a UN Security Council resolution against Syria for its apparent sarin gas attack last week, which killed approximately 87 people.

The resolution is backed by the United States, United Kingdom and France. It would allow international investigations into the attack.

According to the independently-owned Interfax, Russian deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov says Russia would veto the resolution as it stands now.

The UN Security Council could vote on the resolution later today.

Man dies of dehydration during Ein Gedi hike

A 40-year-old man died of dehydration on a hike near the Ein Gedi national park, Walla reports.

The man was hiking in the Arugot River when he collapsed. A team from the park service and police’s rescue unit performed CPR, but eventually pronounced him dead on the scene.

His body was taken out of the national park by helicopter.

Dozens march in support of Israeli held by Hamas

Dozens of people are marching in the coastal city of Ashkelon in support of Avraham Mengistu, who is believed to be held by the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip.

Mengistu, a member of the Ethiopian community, crossed into the coastal enclave in 2014. According to his family, he is mentally unstable.

The family has accused the government of not working hard enough to get him out of Gaza.

Two Bedouin Israelis — Hisham al-Sayed, and Juma Ibrahim Abu Ghanima — are also believed to be held by the Palestinian terrorist group, as are the bodies of two IDF soldiers, Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul.

Stockholm attack suspect tried to join IS in Syria – reports

The Uzbek national suspected of mowing down pedestrians in Stockholm last week tried to join the ranks of the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria, an Uzbek source tells Russian agencies.

The 39-year-old suspect, Rakhmat Akilov, “fell under the influence of emissaries of the Tajik cell of the Islamic State, making attempts to take part in combat in Syria on the side of the fighters,” an unnamed law enforcement source in the Central Asian state says.

According to the source, Akilov attempted to cross Turkey’s border with Syria in 2015 but was detained.

“Given his refugee status he was deported back to Sweden,” the source says.

The source adds that Uzbek authorities put Akilov on an international wanted list in late February after a criminal case on “religious extremism” was opened against him.

Akilov on Tuesday confessed to a “terrorist crime” for the truck attack that killed four people and injured 15 others on Friday, his lawyer says.

He had reportedly said he had received an “order” directly from IS to carry out the attack, according to Swedish media reports.

— AFP

Third person goes missing in Sea of Galilee, 80 rescued

A third young man has gone missing in the Sea of Galilee and 80 people have been pulled from the water thus far, police say.

According to police, the three missing people are 17, 19 and 21 years old.

The police credit “strong winds” with causing the large number of incidents in the northern Israeli lake.

During the Passover holiday each year, thousands of Israelis flock to the Sea of Galilee to swim in its waters and barbecue on its shores.

US says ‘credible reports’ Russia backed attack in Montenegro

The White House ratchets up its criticism of Moscow, saying it saw credible reports Moscow backed an election-day attack in Montenegro last year.

A senior administration official — speaking as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Moscow for difficult talks on Syria — pointed the finger of blame at Russia for a coup attempt during October’s election.

“We are very concerned about Russian interference in the October elections in Montenegro,” the official says, “including credible reports of Russian support for an attempted election-day attack on the government.”

A special prosecutor in Montenegro has accused Russian state bodies of trying to overthrow the government, in an effort to prevent Montenegro from entering NATO.

The comments also came a day after US President Donald Trump approved Montenegro’s accession to the alliance and prepared to meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House later in the day.

After pro-Russian campaign rhetoric, Trump has tempered his praise of Putin, most recently condemning his support for Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

Trump’s harder line comes amid growing questions about whether his aides and associates colluded with Russian meddling in the US election. That line of inquiry has focused on Trump allies Carter Page, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone.

— AFP

US, Russia must agree on Syria: – UN envoy

The United Nations peace envoy for Syria urges the United States and Russia to agree on a way forward to end the war in Syria and pave the way for “real negotiation.”

Special envoy Staffan de Mistura tells the UN Security Council that he was ready to convene a new round of talks in May but that US-Russian cooperation was needed.

His appeal comes as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following US missile strikes in Syria in retaliation for a suspected chemical attack.

The two countries have “serious differences” but also a “common interest” in ending the six-year war that has killed 320,000 people, De Mistura says.

“They must find a way to work together to stabilize the situation in a deliberate, realistic and concerted way in support of the political process,” he says.

The United Nations is ready to lead a “real negotiation” on a “package for an orderly, mapped-out, credible and irreversible, agreed political transition” to end the war, he adds.

The council was meeting ahead of a vote later in the day on a draft resolution demanding that the Syrian government cooperate with an investigation of the suspected chemical attack in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun.

Russia is expected to veto the measure — which would mark the eighth time that Moscow has used its veto power to block Security Council action directed at its ally, Syria.

“Let us view this moment of crisis — and it is a moment of crisis — as a watershed and an opportunity for a new level of seriousness in the search for a political solution,” says De Mistura.

— AFP

Police prepare for priestly blessing at Western Wall

Police complete their preparations for the priestly blessing ceremony set to take place at the Western Wall on Thursday, a police spokesperson says.

Thousands of people are expected to come to the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City for the religious ceremony.

“Hundreds of police officers, Border Police and special patrol units will be mobilized in the Old City of Jerusalem throughout the morning until after the high priest blessing,” a police spokesperson says.

Tillerson, Putin meet in the Kremlin

A Kremlin spokesperson says Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The meeting comes amid an ongoing spat between the two countries over the Syrian civil war, specifically Syrian President Bashar Assad’s apparent use of chemical weapons against civilians.

Last week, the US fired 59 cruise missiles at a Syrian air base in response to the alleged sarin gas attack. Russia denounced the American strike and indicated earlier today that it would veto international efforts to censure Assad.

— with AP

5 injured in West Bank car crash

Medics are treating five people, including a baby, who were injured in a car crash near the Avnei Hefetz settlement in the West Bank.

According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service, the one-year-old and a 32-year-old woman were moderately wounded in the crash. The other three suffered light injuries.

The infant suffered upper body wounds, while the woman sustained a stomach injury, MDA says.

The crash occurred on the Route 557 highway outside the settlement in the northern West Bank.

US envoy to UN blasts Russia for ‘covering’ for Assad

US Envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley tells Russia to stop “covering for Assad” and join the rest of the “civilized world.”

Haley’s sharp words come as US Secretary of State Tillerson meets with Russian President Vladmir Putin.

“Assad is not a partner for peace, and Russia, Iran and Hezbollah are lending their hands to a barbaric regime,” Haley says at the UN.

US ‘ready to help bring’ Syria conflict to end, Haley says

The United States is ready to work towards a diplomatic solution to end the six-year war in Syria, US Ambassador Nikki Haley says.

“We are ready to throw our weight and resources behind diplomacy. We are ready to help bring this conflict to an end,” Haley tells the Security Council.

— AFP

Trump gave Syria attack order while eating ‘most beautiful piece of chocolate cake’

US President Donald Trump gave the order to strike Syria with dozens of cruise missiles “during dessert” with visiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping, he says in an interview.

“We had finished dinner. We’re now having dessert. And we had the most beautiful piece of chocolate cake that you’ve ever seen and President Xi was enjoying it,” Trump tells the Fox Business television network.

Given word that US warships in the Mediterranean were “locked and loaded,” Trump says the decision was made then “to do it, so the missiles were on the way.”

“And I said, ‘Mr. President, let me explain something to you’ — this was during dessert — ‘we’ve just fired 59 missiles.'”

Trump says Xi “paused for 10 seconds and then asked the interpreter to say it again. I didn’t think that was a good sign.”

But then, Trump says, Xi responded that “anybody that was so brutal and uses gases to do that to young children and babies, it’s OK…. He was OK with it. He was OK.”

Trump had been hosting Xi at his private Florida resort Mar-a-Lago on April 6. The US missiles struck a Syrian air base in retaliation for Syria’s alleged chemical attack on a rebel-held town, killing 87 civilians, many of them children.

— AFP

2 suburban Chicago men arrested on terrorism charges

Two suburban Chicago men have been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to support the Islamic State militant group.

A statement from the US attorney’s office in Chicago says Joseph D. Jones and Edward Schimenti were arrested Wednesday on charges of conspiring to provide and attempt to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

At one point, the two 35-year-olds allegedly shared photos of themselves holding an Islamic State flag at the Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, where they live.

It adds they also gave cellphones to a cooperating informant believing they’d be used to detonate explosives in Syria. It also says the suspects drove the informant to O’Hare International Airport.

The men were due to appear in Chicago federal court later Wednesday.

— AP

Russia says UN needs to prove Syrian chemical attack

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says at a press conference that Russia and the United States believe a United Nations probe into Syria chemical attack is necessary.

Earlier today, Russian media reported that Moscow planned to veto the current draft of a UN resolution to launch such an investigation, but this new statement may indicate that Russia would accept a revised version.

— with AP

Russia says it’s ready to resume US deal to avoid Syria clashes

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says his country is prepared to resume its cooperation with the United States to avoid potential conflicts in the air over Syria, where both countries are currently operating.

Lavrov adds that the US and Russia are ready for an “uncompromising” fight against terrorism, during a press conference as part of a visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

After the US struck a Syrian air base in response to an apparent sarin gas attack by Syrian President Bashar Assad, Russia announced it was backing out of the arrangement.

In Syria, Russia is backing Assad and fighting the rebel forces that oppose him, including the Islamic State. The United States is leading an international coalition against the Islamic State.

— with AFP

Tillerson: ‘Low level of trust’ between US and Russia

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says there was a “low level of trust” between Moscow and Washington after talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

“There is a low level of trust between our two countries,” Tillerson says at a news conference following the talks. “The world’s two foremost nuclear powers cannot have this kind of relationship.”

— AFP

Russia ‘open to dialogue’ with US despite problems

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow is open to dialogue with Washington, despite tense relations between the countries, after talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

“Despite the quantity of existing problems… there are considerable prospects for joint work,” Lavrov says at a news conference.

“Russia is open to this, open to dialogue with the US in all different areas, not only to dialogue but to joint action aimed at results in the areas where this corresponds to the interests of both countries.”

— AFP

Russia says it won’t ‘shield anyone’ in chemical probe

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow has no intention to shield anyone responsible for the latest chemical attack in Syria.

Lavrov says that a United Nations chemical weapons watchdog must conduct an “objective and unbiased probe” into the chemical attack that killed dozens of people.

Speaking after several hours of talks with visiting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, he says Russia has no intention to “shield anyone.”

But Lavrov reaffirms Russia’s view that the Syrian government wasn’t responsible for the attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun in northern Syria.

Moscow has insisted that the civilians who died there were killed by toxic agents released from a rebel chemical arsenal struck by Syrian warplanes.

–AP