If US pursues regime change, Iran would pursue the bomb, warns fmr. Iranian negotiator
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Geraldo Sucks Up to Trump With Lame Reason to Give Him Nobel Peace Prize
Geraldo Rivera thinks that President Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize—even if he doesn't actually deliver any peace. The former talk show host and Fox News personality appeared on Newsmax's Finnerty on Wednesday morning to discuss the U.S. effort to end the war in Ukraine. 'If he does end this war, Geraldo, can they deny him the Nobel Peace Prize?' host Rob Finnerty asked. 'Hell no,' Rivera said. 'I think that this and/or Gaza would put him on the fast track, and anyone to deny that, I think, would really be putting their partisan politics in front of their logic.' 'If you have a president of the United States trying so hard... for peace, even if he's not totally successful, just the effort is so, it's so overt, it's so public, it's so aggressive. You know, he deserves recognition at least for that.' Rivera, a longtime Republican who describes himself as socially liberal, has said that Trump was the 'first rich guy [he] ever knew' and that the two were close friends for decades. However, the TV personality told Interview Magazine that their friendship ended after January 6, which Rivera said showed Trump was 'a sore loser who could not be trusted to honor the Constitution.' Rivera endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024, but now he seems to have changed his tune. Both the war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza seem far away from resolution, despite Trump's upcoming summit with Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss the conflict. On Wednesday, Trump was asked if Putin would face any consequences if he did not agree to stop the war after their meeting—which will take place without the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'There will be very severe consequences,' he said, without specifying what those consequences will be. Meanwhile, the Israeli government announced plans to occupy Gaza City last week in order to 'free Gaza from Hamas.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement sparked an international outcry and an arms embargo from Germany. In July, Netanyahu formally nominated Trump for the Nobel Prize, which has been awarded to three U.S. presidents (most recently to Barack Obama in 2008). Netanyahu's letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Trump for his role in negotiating the Abraham Accords in 2020 and claimed that Trump was 'forging peace, as we speak, in one country in the region after another.' Trump has made no secret that he wants the award and envies his predecessor for winning it. 'If I were named Obama, I would have had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds,' he said at the Detroit Economic Club last year. Trump fought ISIS with intense air strikes in Iraq and Syria in his first term and ordered the assassination of a prominent Iranian general. So far in his second term, he has conducted airstrikes on Iran and suggested that the U.S. should occupy the Gaza Strip. 'Let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone,' he said in March.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tens of thousands of Israelis protest for end to Gaza war
Clutching pictures of hostages, waving yellow flags, banging on snare drums and shouting chants to bring captive Israelis home, tens of thousands took to Tel Aviv's streets Sunday to call for an end to the war in Gaza. "We're here to make it very clear to the Israeli government that this is probably the last minute we have to save the hostages that are being held in the Hamas tunnels for almost 700 days," Ofir Penso, a 50-year-old Arabic teacher, told AFP. Demonstrations have been held regularly through most of the 22 months of war in the wake of the Hamas attacks in 2023, but Sunday's protests appeared to be one of the largest yet. The renewed energy of the movement came with the government deciding just over a week ago to seize Gaza City and nearby camps in a new offensive. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow to conquer the most populated swathes of the Gaza Strip has triggered an international backlash while aid agencies and UN experts have warned of unfolding famine in the territory. Recent video footage released by Palestinian militants showed hostages heavily emaciated and pale -- spurring fears that the captives' health is more fragile than ever. Many in the crowd wore makeshift patches on their shirts made with pieces of tape with the number 681 -- the number of days the hostages have been held captive in Gaza -- scrawled in marker pen. Of the 251 people taken hostage by Palestinian militants in October 2023, 49 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 27 the Israeli military has said are dead. - 'Enough is enough' - Snaking along downtown streets, shadowed by glass towers, the crowd converged on Tel Aviv's Hostage Square -- the focal point of movement. "The Israeli government has never offered a genuine initiative for a comprehensive agreement and an end to the war," Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is being held captive in Gaza, told the crowd. "We demand a comprehensive and achievable agreement and an end to the war. We demand what is rightfully ours -– our children." The war has also touched on other frustrations for many who took to the streets. "The whole country is fighting with each other, our image around the world has completely changed, worse than it ever was, and enough is enough," Nick, a 31-year-old tech worker, told AFP, asking not to use his last name. Others worried about the fate of their own children enlisted in the Israeli military who had been sent to Gaza and feared that they might soon be recalled to fight. "We are hoping and praying that our government will hear us and listen to us," said Ella Kaufman from Kadima Zoran, who has two sons serving as officers in the Israeli army. "I'm also a concerned mother." While thousands took to the streets, there were others in Tel Aviv who hoped for an end to the war but in different circumstances. "No, I won't be protesting against Bibi, because I think that he has to finish the work, he has to finish the war," said Patrick Menache, a 69-year-old real estate investor in Tel Aviv, using a common nickname for Netanyahu. Nevertheless, he admitted the war had taken a toll. "Everybody is tired, the hostages are tired, the families are tired, the Palestinians are tired, everybody is tired." ds/dcp/dv
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Zelensky returns to Washington, this time with Europe at his side
It has to be a tribute to Volodymyr Zelensky's resilience, as well as an acknowledgement of Donald Trump's still-pivotal role as the would-be peacemaker, that he is prepared to risk another encounter at the White House. That meeting, six months ago, has gone down in the annals as one of the most disgraceful episodes in modern-day diplomacy, with a national leader humiliated in front of the cameras in a grilling that the US president said afterwards would make good television. Lessons have clearly been drawn from that dire encounter, not just by President Zelensky himself, and maybe President Trump, who mended fences at an informal tete-a-tete at the Vatican, but also by the Ukrainian's many European supporters. Joining Mr Zelensky in Washington will be the heads of the EU and Nato, and a clutch of European leaders, including Sir Keir Starmer. That all these highly placed individuals are prepared to meet, as they did in various configurations on Sunday, and travel at such short notice to Washington at the height of Europe's holiday season, shows how high the stakes are, as seen not just by Ukraine, but by Europe. And they are certainly a great deal higher than they were in February, given both the situation on the battlefield and what would appear to be the new level of understanding between Mr Trump and Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, following their summit in Alaska. Whatever format is applied to the meeting, or surely meetings, in Washington, there are lessons that it must be hoped Mr Zelensky has taken to heart, should he find himself again one-to-one with Trump in the Oval Office. They include using a translator – whether or not he thinks he needs one – and ignoring media questions before any talks have taken place. What he chooses to wear, on the other hand, should be for him to decide, not for the White House to dictate. In the end, though, the presence of so many high-level Europeans may be the best guarantee that Mr Zelensky is not treated as a lone leader of a peripheral state who can easily be imposed upon. And there are already intimations of a little more transatlantic flexibility on two key points. After Alaska, Mr Trump appeared to follow Putin's script for an actual end to the war, rather than an immediate ceasefire. The Europeans now appear to have followed, with the ceasefire demand now replaced by the longer-term, if more complex, aim of ending the war. It would also appear that security guarantees – a consistent requirement of Ukraine and slightly less consistent on the part of the Europeans – may be back on the agenda, although vague as to what form they might take and whether the US would underwrite them. With Nato membership for Ukraine one of Russia's reddest of red lines, this could help square that circle. The choreography in Washington alone will itself challenge complaints that the US and Russia were intent on cobbling together an agreement over the heads of Ukraine and Europe. This does not mean that the visitors should not be wary that Washington may listen and not hear. The Europeans must do their utmost not to make cracks show, and stick to what appears to be their simple and limited script. In particular, that means Ukraine's full participation in any peace process. There must also be no dilution of their stance on what the Trump White House is calling 'land swaps' and might more accurately be called territorial concessions. The European position appears to be that no borders may be changed by force, although the last word must rest with Ukraine, which is quite right. Mr Zelensky has at times hinted at a readiness at least to broach such a possibility, while at others – including at Sunday's joint press conference with Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels – insisting that sacrificing land would be out of the question as it would contravene Ukraine's constitution. In the end, though, the benefits for Ukraine of ending the war may have to be set against any territorial losses. Domestically, this will be one of Mr Zelensky's toughest calls. Internationally, there are diplomatic formulas that can cope with continuing territorial ambiguities. The emotive issue of Ukraine's abducted children must also be factored into any discussions. If it is true that the US first lady, Melania Trump, has taken up their cause, then their return may not be as remote a prospect as once seemed. Above all, the principle of 'nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine' is not just a slogan; it is an entirely practical requirement. There can be no peace that does not reflect the assent of Ukraine, as it will simply not endure. The torrent of recent developments has opened the question of whether, for all Moscow's official intransigence, there is enough now in play, as between the US, Russia and Ukraine, for some modest progress towards peace. A very cautious 'Yes' may be the best answer that can be hoped for out of Washington on Monday.
