Subject: Morning Brief: In Israel, Netanyahu Rivals Join Forces
From: "Foreign Policy" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2019 08:28:28 -0600 (CST)

Morning Brief: In Israel, Netanyahu Rivals Join Forces

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MORNING BRIEF

Today's Global News from Foreign Policy

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02/21/2019

02/21/2019

TOP NEWS

Morning Brief: In Israel, Netanyahu Rivals Join Forces

Top News: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s two main political rivals announced they are to join forces and form a centrist alliance in a bid to defeat him in the April 9 elections.

According to recent polls the new party list, led by the former army chief Benny Gantz and centrist politician Yair Lapid, would be the biggest bloc in the parliament and could possibly defeat Netanyahu.

If elected, Lapid and Gantz have agreed to rotate as prime minister.

The dramatic development came just hours before the election registration deadline.

Vatican City: Catholic leaders from around the world met in the Vatican today for a four-day conference aimed at curbing child sex abuse in the church. In his opening remarks, Pope Francis said that victims expected “concrete and efficient measures,” not just condemnation.

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AFRICA

•  Reuters reports that Nigeria has demanded $20 billion in back taxes from foreign oil and gas companies.

•  A new report by Human Rights Watch alleges that 27 young men and boys suspected of gang involvement were summarily executed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during an anti-crime campaign last year.

•  A Chinese woman, thought to be one of the Africa’s most notorious ivory traffickers, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Tanzania.

AMERICAS

•  A coast guard lieutenant arrested last week in the suburbs of Washington D.C. had prepared a hit list of Democratic lawmakers and members of the news media. Prosecutors described him as a “domestic terrorist” in court filings.

•  Johnson & Johnson said that it had received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding allegations of asbestos in their signature baby power which lawsuits claim caused cancer and other health problems.

•  A species of giant tortoise, believed to be extinct for over 100 years, has been discovered in the Galapagos islands.

ASIA

•  At least 78 people have been killed in a fire in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka’s historic Chawkbazar district.

•  Taiwan unveiled a draft law on same-sex marriage, a first in Asia.

•  Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman arrived in Beijing Thursday for the final leg of his Asia tour.

EUROPE

•  The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said that Russian authorities had not given them access to Michael Calvey, the U.S. investor who was detained last week, in violation of consular agreements between the two countries.

•  French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced new plans to tackle anti-Semitism and online hate speech.

•  British Finance Minister Philip Hammond said lawmakers could vote on a revised Brexit deal next week, as the March 29 withdrawal date looms.

MIDDLE EAST

•  The last civilians living under Islamic State rule are expected to be evacuated in Syria today as U.S.-backed forces prepare to wipe out the jihadists’ last enclave near the Iraqi border.

•  A summit of central European leaders, due to be held in Israel, has been cancelled after Israeli officials sparked outrage by accusing Poland of complicity in the Holocaust.

•  U.S.-backed forces in Syria handed over 150 Iraqis who are suspected members of the Islamic state to Iraq.

- By Amy Mackinnon

(DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

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