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Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Israel considers new plans to isolate Palestinians in Jerusalem

November 27, 2017

Israeli officials are in disagreement over a plan to cut off Palestinians in Jerusalem by installing a separate municipality for the city’s non-Jewish residents.

The plan to cut off Palestinian neighborhoods located behind the illegal Separation Wall is being promoted by Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Ze’ev Elkin. He suggested that the establishment of a separate municipal entity to govern these areas would enable Israel to tackle the demographic threat posed by Jerusalem’s non-Jewish communities.

Elkin, according to the Jerusalem Post, holds the view that these neighborhoods are wide open to the West Bank but are still a part of the capital and attract non-Israeli Palestinians – which leads to mixed marriages – it poses a demographic challenge for the Jewish majority in the city.

Israeli sources also reported that a plan advanced by Elkin to separate East Jerusalem neighborhoods located beyond the security barrier has gained steam and moved from the legislative phase to the planning phase. It is likely to create another layer of discrimination against Palestinians and could see as many as 150,000 people living under a two-tier system with many services and provisions denied to the non-Jewish residents of Jerusalem.

Israel already has a number of laws that entrench racial segregation in the country. For example Israeli courts granted legal legitimacy to Jewish only Admissions Committees to be able to reject persons residing in an area based on nationality and race. More than 434 small communities in rural towns with control over 43 per cent of residential areas can reject Palestinian citizens of Israel and other marginalized groups from residing in them on the basis that they are “unsuitable” for Jewish communities.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has opposed the plan, opting instead to give his backing for a plan that would seek to attract more settlers in the occupied city instead of separating Jerusalem due to concerns over the demographic threat posed by Palestinians.

Elkin appears to prefer a more immediate solution, although he too suggested last week plans for a million more settlers to be moved into the West Bank. The Israeli minster further dismissed the idea of a Palestinian state in the occupied Palestinian territory, while giving his backing for the plan saying that “there is no other option but the state of Israel, certainly between the Jordan [River] to the [Mediterranean] sea there will be one state.”

Elkin’s proposal appears identical to Tel Aviv’s creation of two separate municipalities in Occupied Hebron in September. The decision, according to critics “formalizes the system of apartheid in the city and could potentially lead to new projects and budget transfers to the Hebron settlers.”

Source: Middle East Monitor.

Merkel: Stability for Germany main goal in coalition talks

November 27, 2017

BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday her conservative bloc is willing to start talks on trying to forge a "stable government" with the Social Democrats, with an eye on the large challenges Germany faces both internationally and domestically.

"We are ready to hold talks with the Social Democrats ... in a serious, engaged, honest way and obviously with the intention of success as well," Merkel told reporters after a meeting with her party's leadership in Berlin.

Talks between Merkel's conservative bloc and two smaller parties to form a previously untried coalition collapsed a week ago. Merkel's partners in the outgoing government, the Social Democrats, initially refused to consider another so-called "grand coalition" after a disastrous showing in the election.

But following an appeal from the country's president they reversed course Friday and said they are now open to holding talks. Merkel said that her conservative bloc was "prepared to take responsibility" for governing again, while acknowledging that compromise would be necessary to form another alliance with the Social Democrats.

"For us it is important that we achieve stability for our country, and that we are the anchor of that stability," she said. The chancellor said that in the face of problems in Germany and Europe, such as the task of integrating hundreds of thousands of migrants, but also "regarding the conflicts in the Middle East, the situation in Russia, and the situation in the U.S.A.," the government needs to be "capable of acting."

Merkel, the leader of her party's Bavarian-only sister Christian Social Union, Horst Seehofer, and Social Democratic leader Martin Schulz are due to meet German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday.

Schulz later Monday struck a somewhat skeptical note about the meeting, telling reporters that he would talk with Merkel and Seehofer about "if and in which form" they would continue discussions and "if it even makes sense to continue to talk with one another."

Schulz said his party's members would have a final say over any agreement, be it a revival of the grand coalition or a Merkel-led minority government tolerated by the Social Democrats. Strife over the CSU-run Agriculture Ministry's decision Monday to back an extension of the use of weed killer glyphosate within the European Union illustrated how difficult the talks may be.

Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, a prominent Social Democrat, said she had told Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt only a few hours before the vote that her party was against any extension, and that Germany should have abstained.

"Anyone who is interested in developing trust between two parties cannot behave that way," she said. Earlier in the day, a leading member of Merkel's Christian Democrats suggested coalition talks with the Social Democrats will only get underway in earnest next year.

Julia Kloeckner, a deputy leader of the Christian Democrats, said on public television ARD that thoroughness is more important than speed. If Merkel can't put together a coalition, the only options would be a minority government or a new election, months after the Sept. 24 vote.

David Rising contributed to this story.

Meghan Markle has advocated for women since the age of 11

November 28, 2017

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Meghan Markle became an advocate for women when she was an 11-year-old elementary school student, and achieving gender equality remains a driving force for the fiancée of Britain's Prince Harry and self-described "feminist."

Since 2014, the American actress has helped put a global spotlight on the need for equality between women and men as an "Advocate for Political Participation and Leadership" for the women's agency of the United Nations.

In her role for UN Women, Markle spent time at the World Bank and with the team of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton learning more about the issue. She also visited Rwanda, which has the highest percentage of women in parliament and where she also met with female refugees.

UN Women said in a statement after Monday's announcement of Markle's engagement to Queen Elizabeth II's grandson that it "trusts and hopes that in her new and important public role she will continue to use her visibility and voice to support the advancement of gender equality."

Markle spoke about her accidental road to becoming an advocate at a star-studded celebration in March 2015 for the 20th anniversary of the Beijing women's conference that adopted a roadmap to achieve equality for women, which is the framework for UN Women's activities.

Her opening words drew loud applause and cheers: "I am proud to be a woman and a feminist." Markle recalled that around the time of the 1995 Beijing conference she was in school in Los Angeles watching television and saw a commercial for a dishwashing liquid with the tagline: "Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans."

"Two boys from my class said, 'Yeah. That's where women belong — in the kitchen,'" she said. "I remember feeling shocked and angry and also just feeling so hurt. It just wasn't right, and something needed to be done," Markle said.

When she went home, she told her dad, who encouraged her to write letters. "My 11-year-old self worked out that if I really wanted someone to hear, well then I should write a letter to the first lady. So off I went scribbling away to our first lady at the time, Hillary Clinton," Markle said.

She also wrote to her main news source, Linda Ellerbee, who hosted a kids news program, as well as to "powerhouse attorney" Gloria Allred and to the manufacturer of the dishwashing soap. To her surprise, she said, after a few weeks she received letters of encouragement from Clinton, Allred and Ellerbee, who even sent a camera crew to her house to cover the story.

"It was roughly a month later when the soap manufacturer, Proctor and Gamble, changed the commercial for their Ivory Clear Dishwashing Liquid ... from 'Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans' to "People all over America ...'," Markle said.

"It was at that moment that I realized the magnitude of my actions," she said. "At the age of 11, I had created my small level of impact by standing up for equality." Markle said that for her, equality means that Rwandan President Paul Kagame is equal to the little girl in the refugee camp who dreams of being president and the U.N. secretary-general is equal to the U.N. intern who dreams of shaking his hand.

And "it means that a wife is equal to her husband, a sister to her brother — not better, not worse. They are equal," she said. UN Women has set 2030 "as the expiration date for gender inequality," Markle said, but even though women comprise more than half the world's population, their voices still go unheard "at the highest levels of decision-making."

Markle called for programs to mobilize girls and women "to see their value as leaders" and for support to ensure they have seats at the top table. And when those seats aren't available, "then they need to create their own table," she said to loud applause.

Markle also said Rwanda's Kagame, who has championed women in parliament, should be a role model, "just as we need more men like my father, who championed my 11-year-old self to stand up for what is right."

American actress Meghan Markle to be a new kind of royal

November 28, 2017

LONDON (AP) — She is an entertainment figure in her own right, and an outspoken woman comfortable talking about her background and her passions. American actress Meghan Markle will be a new type of royal when she weds Prince Harry in the spring.

In some ways, Markle — a mixed-race American raised in California, and a divorcee — makes a surprising addition to Britain's monarchy. But the institution has moved on with the times, and the romance between Markle and Harry has a decidedly unstuffy, modern feel to it.

Markle, best known for her role as an ambitious paralegal in the hit U.S. legal drama "Suits," surprised many when she shared her feelings for Harry in a September cover story for Vanity Fair. Asked about the media frenzy surrounding their courtship, the 36-year-old said: "At the end of the day I think it's really simple ... we're two people who are really happy and in love."

Describing Harry as her "boyfriend," Markle said that while she expected that she and Harry would have to "come forward" about their relationship at some point, the two were just a couple enjoying time spent with each other.

"Personally, I love a great love story," she said. It is unusual for a royal love interest to speak so publicly — and candidly — before becoming engaged. Harry's past reported girlfriends all shied away from the media limelight, and his sister-in-law, formerly known as Kate Middleton, stayed silent until she and Prince William gave a formal televised interview at Buckingham Palace after their engagement became public.

But then, unlike some other "commoners" romantically linked to Britain's royals, Markle is no stranger to media exposure and the world of show business. The actress's most successful role is the feisty Rachel Zane in the TV legal show "Suits," now in its seventh season. Her career has also included small parts on TV series including "Fringe," ''CSI: Miami," ''Knight Rider" and "Castle," as well as movies including "Horrible Bosses."

Outside of acting, Markle founded a lifestyle blog called TheTig.com (which closed down in April without explanation), and has lent her celebrity status to humanitarian causes. She has campaigned for women's equality for UN Women as an "Advocate for Political Participation and Leadership." At a 2015 star-studded event for the U.N. women's agency, she said: "I am proud to be a woman and a feminist."

UN Women said in a statement late Monday that it "trusts and hopes that in her new and important public role she will continue to use her visibility and voice to support the advancement of gender equality."

Markle has written in Time magazine about girls' education and the stigma surrounding menstruation, and has traveled to Rwanda as global ambassador for the charity World Vision Canada. She has described how her mother took her to the slums of Jamaica to witness poverty first-hand, saying experiences like that shaped her social consciousness and charity work.

She has campaigned with the United Nations on gender equality, written in Time magazine about girls' education and the stigma surrounding menstruation, and has traveled to Rwanda as global ambassador for the charity World Vision Canada. She has described how her mother took her to the slums of Jamaica to witness poverty first-hand, saying experiences like that shaped her social consciousness and charity work.

Harry and Markle held hands for their first official appearance together in September in Toronto at the Invictus Games, a sporting event for wounded service personnel that Harry spearheaded. Both were dressed casually in jeans, smiling and chatting as they arrived for a tennis match. Several days later, Harry was photographed kissing Markle on the cheek as he joined the actress and her mother in a luxury box to watch the event's closing ceremony.

Markle said she met Harry through friends in London in July 2016, and that they had been dating quietly for several months before the romance hit the headlines. The media attention then became so intense that Harry took the unusual step of officially confirming the romance in order to warn the media off. In a strongly-worded statement issued through the palace, the prince pleaded for reporters to stop intruding on his girlfriend's privacy. He condemned "outright sexism and racism" in some online comments, and said some articles with "racial undertones" had crossed the line.

Some tabloids had alluded to Markle's mixed-race heritage, pointing out she has an African-American mother and a white father. Markle herself has spoken out about coming to terms with being biracial — both growing up, and in her Hollywood career.

In a March interview with Allure magazine, she said studying race at college was "the first time I could put a name to feeling too light in the black community and too mixed in the white community. "For castings, I was labeled 'ethnically ambiguous'," she said.

Markle was born Aug. 4, 1981, to a clinical therapist mother and television lighting director father. She grew up in Los Angeles, and now lives in Toronto. She studied at a girls' Roman Catholic high school before attending Northwestern University in Illinois, where she studied theater and international relations.

Markle married film producer Trevor Engelson in 2011, but the pair divorced two years later. It wouldn't be first time that a British royal has married an American — or a divorcee. In 1936, Edward VIII famously abdicated after he was forced to choose between the monarchy and his relationship with twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson.

In her Vanity Fair interview, Markle made clear the world's attention on her romance did not faze her. "I'm still the same person that I am, and I've never defined myself by my relationship," she said. "The people who are close to me anchor me in knowing who I am. The rest is noise."

Royal romance: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle to wed next year

November 27, 2017

LONDON (AP) — Newly engaged Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Monday lifted the secrecy that had shrouded their 18-month romance, revealing they met on a blind date, bonded during a camping trip under the stars in Botswana and that Harry proposed over a roast chicken dinner at their London home, getting down on one knee to pop the question.

Speaking just hours after the couple's engagement was announced by palace officials acting on behalf of Prince Charles, Harry said he was thrilled when she said yes, and he placed an engagement ring of his own design on her finger that included two diamonds that had belonged to his mother, Princess Diana, set alongside a large central diamond from Botswana.

"Just an amazing surprise," said the 36-year-old Markle, an American actress known for her role in the TV legal drama "Suits." ''It was so sweet and natural and very romantic." Did she hesitate? Not if Harry can be trusted.

"She didn't even let me finish," the 33-year-old prince said of his betrothed. "She said 'Can I say yes, can I say yes?' And then there were hugs and I had the ring in my finger and I was like 'Can I, can I give you the ring?' She goes, 'Oh yes, the ring.'"

The couple said they plan to marry in the spring, and Harry —fifth in line for the British throne — said he hopes to start a family. They seemed very much aglow as they sat on a sofa during their first ever joint interview and described their long-distance courtship, with Markle busy filming in Canada and Harry fulfilling royal duties in Britain. They said they saw each other every two weeks, despite the pressure and put their relationship first.

Markle, whose mother is African-American and whose father is white, said she had been "disheartened" when early press coverage about their relationship focused on her mixed-race background. But she seemed thrilled to be joining the royal family and spoke glowingly about Harry's brother Prince William, his wife Kate and other senior royals.

They will live in Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where Harry proposed and where they will be neighbors with William and Kate. Markle has already brought one of her rescue dogs from Canada, while the other is staying with a friend for now.

In many ways, their story mirrors those of engaged couples everywhere — with some crucial differences. When they first went on vacation together, it was a five-day camping trip in the wilderness of Botswana — where one hopes the royal protection officers gave them some space. And when Markle met Harry's grandmother for tea, she was sitting down with Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history.

Markle said they managed to date for five or six months before the media found out, giving them an "amazing" amount of privacy as they got to know each other. She said she knew very little about the royal family when a mutual friend suggested a blind date with Harry. Markle had only one question: "Is he nice?"

Their first date, for a drink, went well and they quickly decided to meet again. Harry said it took three or four weeks to persuade Markle to join him in Botswana. For his part, Harry said he had never watched the TV show "Suits" and hadn't heard of Markle. But when he met her, he said he quickly realized he would have to "up my game" if he was to have a chance.

"Taking that huge leap of only two dates and then going effectively on holiday together in the middle of nowhere and, you know, sharing a tent together and all that kind of stuff. It was ... fantastic. It was absolutely amazing to get to know her as quickly as I did," Harry said.

The rugged red-headed prince, an army veteran whose one-time bad-boy image has been superseded by his tireless devotion to wounded veterans and his embrace of charitable causes, has said for several years that he wants to start a family, and rumors of his engagement to Markle had been flying for months, fueled by reports she was leaving her television show.

The marriage represents a first-ever blending of Hollywood glamor with the once-stuffy royal family, which has of late seemed less fixed in its ways, and brings a divorced American woman into a highly visible role.

Prince William and his pregnant wife Kate enthusiastically welcomed Markle to the royal family. "We are very excited for Harry and Meghan," they said in a statement. "It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together."

Prince Charles told reporters he was "thrilled" with the engagement. "They'll be very happy indeed," he said. Monday's announcement said the couple had informed Harry's grandmother, the queen, whose consent is needed for him to marry. Markle described having met the queen as an amazing experience.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the couple would have a church wedding. No date has been announced. Congratulations also came in from the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, and from Prime Minister Theresa May.

Markle's parents also welcomed the news. Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, who are divorced, said their daughter "has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents."

Markle was raised in the Los Angeles area. Her father is a Hollywood lighting director, her mother a yoga instructor and psychotherapist. The announcement means another grand royal wedding may be in the offing — the first since William and Kate married in 2011 — though the couple may choose a slimmed-down ceremony.

Harry, once known for his dicey antics, including being photographed playing strip billiards in Las Vegas, has largely charmed the British public with his winning smile, his military career and his devotion to charities aimed at helping disabled veterans and other causes.

Harry recently won praise with his work campaigning for more openness about mental health issues. Speaking candidly about his personal struggle to cope with the loss of his mother when he was only 12, he encouraged others to talk about their own problems rather than keeping them bottled up inside.

It won't be the first time that a British royal has married an American, or a divorced person. In 1936, Edward VIII famously abdicated after he was forced to choose between the monarchy and his relationship with twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson.

Nepalese vote in 1st provincial polls amid democracy hopes

November 26, 2017

CHAUTARA, Nepal (AP) — Nepalese in mountain villages and foothill towns voted Sunday in the Himalayan nation's first provincial polls that promise to bring government closer to rural and remote areas.

Some 3.2 million voters were choosing lawmakers in seven newly-formed federal states as well as the national assembly and turnout is expected to be high. The lawmakers who are elected on Sunday and Dec. 7 in the remaining part of the country will be able to name their states, draft provincial laws and choose local leaders.

"The central government is finally moving to our region. We will be closer to the government now with the state assemblies," said schoolteacher Swasthani Thapa, who was among the voters lining outside the polling station at Chautara, 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Kathmandu, even before it opened at 7 a.m.

Chautara was one of the areas hardest hit by the 2015 earthquake. People in the mountain regions complained they did not get enough help from the central government because their voices were not heard. Two years later, destroyed and damaged houses are still scattered around Chautara and surrounding areas.

"This is a historic day for us. The setting up of states will give final shape to the democracy process, which should finally bring stability and development for our country," said businessman Surya Lal Shrestha.

Nepal's slow path to democracy began in 2006, when protesters forced the king to give up his rule. Two years later, Nepal officially abolished the centuries-old monarchy and decided that a federal system would best deliver services to all corners of the nation, which remains one of the poorest in the world.

But bickering among political parties delayed until 2015 the implementation of the new constitution, which declared Nepal a republic. Security has been stepped with thousands of police and army soldiers deployed for the elections. According to the Home Ministry, more than 400 people were detained in days leading up to the vote.

Soon after the constitution was implemented in 2015, protests by ethnic groups in southern Nepal turned violent and left some 50 people dead. The ethnic Madhesi groups protested for months saying they did not get enough territory in the province assigned to them. They said they deserved more land because they represented a bigger population. Their protest blocked the border with India for months, cutting off fuel and other supplies in Nepal.