WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel will face a confirmation hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill as US and Arab mediators struggle to get a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas back on track after Israeli forces resumed the war in Gaza last week with a surprise wave of deadly airstrikes.
Trump nominated Mike Huckabee, a well-known evangelical Christian and vehement supporter of Israel, to take on the critical post in Jerusalem days after he won reelection on a campaign promise to end the now 17-month war.
If Huckabee, a Republican, is confirmed by the Senate, his posting will likely complicate an already unstable situation in the Middle East as the former governor of Arkansas has taken stances on the conflict that sharply contradict longstanding US policy in the region.
Huckabee, a one-time presidential hopeful, has spoken favorably in the past about Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and incorporate its Palestinian population into Israel. He has repeatedly backed referring to the West Bank by its biblical name of “Judea and Samaria,” a term that right-wing Israeli politicians and activists have thus far fruitlessly pushed the US to accept.
Most notably, Huckabee has long been opposed to the idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian people. In an interview last year, he went even further, saying that he doesn’t even believe in referring to the Arab descendants of people who lived in British-controlled Palestine as “Palestinians.”
“There really isn’t such a thing,” he said on the podcast show “Think Twice” with Jonathan Tobin. “It’s a term that was co-opted by Yasser Arafat in 1962,” referring to one of the early leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
During the same interview, Huckabee described himself as an “unapologetic, unreformed Zionist.”
As the situation in Gaza has deteriorated with the recent collapse of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal, Israeli officials have begun to talk more seriously about re-occupation of the territory, something to which the Biden administration had been adamantly opposed.
Trump has made his own proposals about a potential US takeover of Gaza, which have attracted attention as well as strong criticism from Arab nations and others.
Huckabee will likely be asked about all of these points in addition to ongoing Israeli military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon and persistent threats to the country from Iran and Iranian-backed proxy groups, like the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In remarks prepared for his testimony, obtained by The Associated Press, Huckabee does not specifically mention either annexation or Trump’s Gaza plan. But he can be expected to offer qualified praise of both, given that he blasts many past Mideast policies as “failed” and speaks of the need to look “at entirely new ways” of promoting peace.
He plans to reaffirm his strong endorsement of Trump’s policies toward Israel during his first term in office, notably his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, his decision to move the US embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv, his recognition of the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory and his sealing of the Abraham Accords, in which several Arab nations normalized relations with Israel, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
“President Trump’s first term was the most consequential for Israel and the Middle East ever with his historic Abraham Accords, and finally moving our embassy to Jerusalem, the ancient, indigenous and biblical eternal capital of the Jewish people,” Huckabee’s prepared remarks say.
Trump’s pick for ambassador to Panama also testifying
Another nominee testifying before the committee on Tuesday is Kevin Cabrera, Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Panama, a country that has bristled at the Republican president’s repeated calls for the US to retake control of the Panama Canal for national security reasons due to potential threats from China. The status of the canal was one of the top items on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s agenda when he visited Panama City on his first trip as America’s top diplomat in February.
“One of the key aspects of our cooperation is ensuring the security of the Panama Canal, a critical international waterway that facilitates global trade and economic growth,” Cabrera will say according to remarks prepared for the hearing.
He plans to praise decisions by the Panamanian government to withdraw from China’s Belt and Road Initiative and to review contracts with a China-based company that is running ports at both ends of the canal. The company has preliminarily agreed to sell its interests in the subsidiaries that run the ports, but the deal is not yet complete.
Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pick to be Israel ambassador, will face senators as war in Gaza restarts
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Mike Huckabee, Trump’s pick to be Israel ambassador, will face senators as war in Gaza restarts
- If Huckabee, a Republican, is confirmed by the Senate, his posting will likely complicate an already unstable situation in the Middle East
- He has spoken favorably in the past about Israel’s right to annex the West Bank and incorporate its Palestinian population into Israel
Germany’s next leader Merz vows defense of Ukraine and democracy
- Merz said Germany was ready to 'once again assume leadership responsibility' in the European Union
- He has appointed Alexander Dobrindt, 54, as the new interior minister, in charge of immigration and border control
BERLIN: Germany’s incoming conservative leader Friedrich Merz pledged a spirited defense of Ukraine and of democratic values Monday as he named his new cabinet, less than a week before he is set to take power in Europe’s top economy.
European unity is “under threat” from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the rise of the far right at home, said Merz as he appointed a strong supporter of Kyiv, foreign policy expert and ex-soldier Johann Wadephul, as his new foreign minister.
Speaking at a CDU party meeting in Berlin that signed off on the coalition contract with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), Merz said Germany was ready to “once again assume leadership responsibility” in the European Union.
Merz — who is set to take office on May 6, ending half a year of political paralysis in Berlin — said the more than three-year-old war in Ukraine “is directed against the entire political order of the European continent.”
“There must be no doubt where we stand: namely, without any ifs or buts, on the side of this attacked country and thus on the side of all people in Europe who are committed to democracy and the rule of law, who are committed to freedom and an open society.”
Pointing to the return of US President Donald Trump, but without naming him, Merz said that “we have come to realize that we can no longer be sure of the transatlantic relationship in the spirit of freedom and the rules-based order.”
Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance has sealed a coalition deal with the SPD of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz after winning a February 23 election in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) took second place.
Wadephul is expected to play a key role in a new national security council, together with the current and likely future defense minister, Boris Pistorius of the SPD, to push Berlin’s interests in the EU and on the international stage.
A spending “bazooka” worth many hundreds of billions of euros was passed by the outgoing parliament to build up the armed forces as well as Germany’s infrastructure and boost the economy, which has shrunk for the past two years in a row.
'Trust in our democracy'
Merz acknowledged there had been little excitement so far greeting the coming change at the top, adding that “this is not the time for euphoria. The pillars we have relied on over the past years and decades are faltering around us.”
“Trust in our democracy is damaged like never before in our country’s post-war history,” he said.
“(Europe) is under threat from outside by an imperialistic, authoritarian war to the east and also from frightened, insecure and even radicalized citizens within its borders.”
“We are also directly threatened by this war and by Russia,” he added, pointing to acts of sabotage and interference blamed on Russia, including “the systematic disinformation of our population.”
Germany’s election saw a surge in support for the far-right and Moscow-friendly AfD, which finished in second place with more than 20 percent of the vote.
Merz said his goal remained to once more make the AfD “a marginal phenomenon,” including by cracking down on irregular immigration and eliminating the “pull factors that still exist in Germany.”
But he warned that unless the government meets the demands of most voters, Germany could end up in a situation where “we are perhaps at some point no longer able to govern.”
Merz has appointed Alexander Dobrindt, 54, parliamentary leader of the Bavarian CSU, as the new interior minister, in charge of immigration and border control.
The post of economy and energy minister will go to the CDU’s Katherina Reiche, 51, who has recently been working as an executive in the energy sector.
Karsten Wildberger, chief executive of the group which owns German electronics retailers Saturn and Mediamarkt, will lead a new ministry for digitalization and modernization.
In Dhaka, a century-old lassi shop keeps family recipe alive with every sip
- Since Beauty Lassi first opened in 1922, its owners have used the same recipe
- Its famed lassi drinks are popular on hot summer days and throughout Ramadan
DHAKA: In the streets of Old Dhaka, a shop specializing in lassi has captured people’s hearts for generations, offering a version of the flavored yogurt drink that many have deemed unique.
Since the store first opened more than a century ago, the owners of Beauty Lassi have kept to the original recipe, preserving a legendary inheritance that has withstood the test of time.
“We use yoghurt, sugar, and ice cubes to prepare our lassi. It has been carried with the same recipe from the beginning. We have been following the same methods as our grandfather did,” Mohammad Javed Hossain, 55, told Arab News.
“It’s fully natural,” he said.
“There is no adulteration here and no presence of any chemical. It’s completely chemical-free, very tasty, and mouthwatering. That’s why people like it very much.”
Tucked amid the hustle and bustle of the historic neighborhood known for its rich cultural heritage and traditional architecture, Beauty Lassi has stood as a witness to the changing tides of the Bangladeshi capital.
But as its famed lassi remained unchanged, the shop became an iconic establishment itself, beloved by old timers and a go-to spot for the younger generation.
“This business was started in 1922. My late grandfather, Abdul Aziz, launched the journey. Then my late father, Abdul Gaffar Mia, continued the business.
“Following his footsteps, now my brother Mohammad Manik and I are running the business,” Hossain said, adding that his son and nephew would continue the legacy.
Since taking over the shop about three decades ago, Hossain said he has served customers of all ages from different parts of the country and also the world.
Most people are more fond of the sweet lassi rather than the salted ones, he said.
“People from all ages visit our shop. But on average, the new generation of youths come more,” he said. “Our sales depend on the temperature (and) weather. The hotter the weather, the more business it brings for us.”
The first sip of the popular lassi has often been described as rejuvenating, a satisfying refresher in a country with a humid, tropical climate.
During Ramadan, when many people opt for the iconic flavored yogurt drinks to cap off iftar or sahoor, Dhaka residents would often make their way to Beauty Lassi for a taste of its unique flavor.
“It’s the best in the world. I tried lassi in other places too, but every time the taste of this one would come to mind. My Ramadan remains incomplete without this lassi,” Delwar Hossain, a businessman from Dhaka’s Nawabpur road, told Arab News.
“The first time I came here to have lassi … that was probably in 1981 or 1982 … Since then, I have been coming here again and again.”
Some of Hossain’s favorite memories are connected to Beauty Lassi, such as the times he visited the shop with his children, and when he took a rickshaw with his father to visit the shop over 40 years ago.
“That day, he drank three glasses of lassi. It was in 1984,” he said, adding that it was one of his last times with his old man.
“If people living in Dhaka don’t taste this drink, they can’t be considered as the residents of Dhaka.”
For many of the city’s residents, Beauty Lassi is a beacon of tradition.
“Beauty Lassi is a tradition of Old Dhaka. I grew up in this area, I have known this shop since my childhood. I am now 45 years old, and I think I have been having this drink for at least the last 35 years,” Ashiqul Islam, a teacher who lives in the neighborhood, told Arab News.
“It’s unique, I have not seen any other (lassi shop) like this. People come here for its name and fame. They bear the prestige of tradition.”
To make Beauty Lassi’s famed drink, one begins by scooping big spoonfuls of yogurt into a large bowl of water.
Next comes the syrup and a few drops of rose water, before everything is mixed by spinning a manual wooden blender. The ice cubes are last, just before the drinks are served.
This is a familiar routine for Mohammad Shahidullah, who has worked at Beauty Lassi for the past 40 years.
“Beauty lassi is a very tasty drink,” he told Arab News as he prepared a new batch for customers.
“A sip of this drink during hot summer brings much comfort.”
Large areas of Spain and Portugal hit by massive power blackout
- Authorities were unable to explain the cause of the outage at least an hour after it occurred, though a possible cyberattack had not been ruled out
MADRID/LISBON: Spain and Portugal were hit by a widespread power blackout on Monday that paralyzed public transport, caused large traffic jams and delayed airline flights, and utility operators were scrambling to restore the grid.
Authorities were unable to explain the cause of the outage at least an hour after it occurred, though a possible cyberattack had not been ruled out and investigations were ongoing, officials said. A crisis committee was set up in Spain to manage the situation, according to people familiar with the situation.
The Spanish and Portuguese governments convened emergency cabinet meetings after the outage, which also briefly affected a part of France, which borders northeastern Spain.
Portugal’s utility REN confirmed a cut in electricity across the Iberian Peninsula that also affected part of France, while Spanish grid operator Red Electrica said it was working with regional energy companies to restore power.
“All plans for the phased restoration of energy supply are being activated, in coordination with European energy producers and operators,” a REN spokesperson said.
“REN is in permanent contact with official entities, namely the National Civil Protection Authority. At the same time, the possible causes of this incident are being assessed.”
Play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended, forcing 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov and British opponent Jacob Fearnley off the court as scoreboards went dark and overhead cameras lost power.
Spanish radio stations said part of the Madrid underground was being evacuated. There were traffic jams at Madrid city center as traffic lights stopped working, Cader Ser Radio station reported.
Hundreds of people stood outside office buildings on Madrid’s streets and there was a heavy police presence around key buildings, directing traffic as well as driving along central atriums with lights, according to a Reuters witness.
One of four tower buildings in Madrid that houses the British Embassy had been evacuated, the witness added.
Local radio reported people trapped in stalled metro cars and elevators.
Portuguese police said traffic lights were affected across the country, the metro was closed in Lisbon and Porto, and trains were not running.
Lisbon’s subway transport operator Metropolitano de Lisboa said the subway was at a standstill with people still inside the trains, according to Publico newspaper.
A source at Portugal’s TAP Air said Lisbon airport was running on back-up generators, while AENA, which manages 46 airports in Spain, reported flight delays around the country.
In France, grid operator RTE said there was a brief outage but power had been restored. It was investigating the cause.
Russia declares a ceasefire in Ukraine on May 8-10 for WWII Victory Day
- The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the full cessation of hostilities on “humanitarian grounds” for the Victory Day on May 9
- Putin had refused to accept a complete unconditional ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies to Ukraine and Ukraine’s mobilization effort
KYIV: The Kremlin on Monday declared a full ceasefire in Ukraine on May 8-10 as Russia celebrates the Victory Day over Nazi Germany.
The truce will start at 0000 on May 8 (2100 GMT May 7) and last through May 10. The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the full cessation of hostilities on “humanitarian grounds” for the Victory Day on May 9.
It comes as US President Donald Trump’s scaled up efforts to broker a peace deal in Ukraine. Until that moment, Putin had refused to accept a complete unconditional ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies to Ukraine and Ukraine’s mobilization effort.
Trump struggles to make good on promises to quickly end Ukraine and Gaza wars
- Trump’s inability to broker deals in Ukraine and Gaza to date might be the most demonstrable evidence his effort to more broadly shake up US foreign policy
WASHINGTON: Ahead of his second go-around in the White House, President Donald Trump spoke with certainty about ending Russia’s war in Ukraine in the first 24 hours of his new administration and finding lasting peace from the devastating 18-month conflict in Gaza.
But as the Republican president nears the 100th day of his second term, he’s struggling to make good on two of his biggest foreign policy campaign promises and is not taking well to suggestions that he’s falling short. And after criticizing President Joe Biden during last year’s campaign for preventing Israel from carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Trump now finds himself giving diplomacy a chance as he tries to curb Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
“The war has been raging for three years. I just got here, and you say, ‘What’s taken so long?’” Trump bristled, when asked about the Ukraine war in a Time magazine interview about his first 100 days. As for the Gaza conflict, he insisted the war “would have never happened. Ever. You then say, ‘What’s taking so long?’“
Measuring a US president by his first 100 days in office is an arbitrary, albeit time-honored, tradition in Washington. And brokering peace deals between intractable warring parties is typically the work of years, not weeks.
But no other president has promised to do as much out of the gate as Trump, who is pursuing a seismic makeover of America’s approach to friends and foes during his second turn in the White House.
Trump has moved at dizzying speed to shift the rules-based world order that has formed the basis for global stability and security in the aftermath of World War II.
All sides have scrambled to acclimate as Trump launched a global tariff war and slashed US foreign aid all while talking up the ideas of taking Greenland from NATO ally Denmark and making Canada the 51st state.
But Trump’s inability to broker deals in Ukraine and Gaza — at least to date — might be the most demonstrable evidence that his effort to quickly shake up US foreign policy through sheer will could have its limits.
And Trump hasn’t obscured his frustration, particularly over the Ukraine war, which he’s long dismissed as a waste of US taxpayer money and of lives lost in the conflict.
The president and his team have gone hot and cold about prospects for peace in Ukraine since Trump’s Oval Office blowup with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February.
In that encounter, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance lectured the Ukrainian leader for being insufficiently grateful for US assistance in the fight to repel Russia’s invading forces before asking him to leave the White House grounds.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that the White House is ready to walk away if Ukraine and Russia don’t make substantial progress toward a peace deal soon.
And Trump on back-to-back days this past week lambasted Zelensky for “prolonging” the “killing field” and then Russian President Vladimir Putin for complicating negotiations with “very bad timing” in launching brutal strikes that pummeled Kyiv.
But by Friday, Trump was expressing optimism again after his special envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow with Putin. Following the talks, Trump declared that the two sides were “very close to a deal.”
Less than 24 hours later, Trump was once again downcast after he met with Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral, expressing doubt in a social media post that Putin was serious about forging a deal.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along,” Trump said of Putin and Russia’s ongoing bombardment of Ukraine.
Trump again expressed frustration with Putin in an exchange with reporters on Sunday evening. “I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal,” Trump said. “We have the confines of a deal, I believe. And I want him to sign it and be done with it.”
White House National Security Council spokesman James Hewitt said Trump remains committed to getting a deal done and is “closer to that objective than at any point during Joe Biden’s presidency.”
“Within 100 days, President Trump has gotten both Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table with the aim to bring this horrific war to a peaceful resolution,” Hewitt said. “It is no longer a question of if this war will end but when.”
Peace in Gaza remains elusive
Trump started his second term with some momentum on ending the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
His envoy Witkoff, a fellow New York real estate maverick turned high-stakes diplomat, teamed up with the outgoing Biden Middle East adviser Brett McGurk to get Israeli and Hamas officials to agree to a temporary ceasefire deal that went into effect one day before Trump’s inauguration.
On the eve of his return to office, Trump took full credit for what he called an “epic” agreement that would lead to a “lasting peace” in the Middle East.
The temporary ceasefire led to the freeing of 33 hostages held in Gaza and the release of roughly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
But the truce collapsed in March, and fighting resumed, with the two sides unable to come to an agreement for the return of 59 remaining hostages, more that half of whom Israeli officials believe are dead.
Conditions in Gaza remain bleak. Israel has cut off all aid to the territory and its more than 2 million people. Israel has disputed that there is a shortage of aid in Gaza and says it’s entitled to block the assistance because, it claims, Hamas seizes the goods for its own use.
Trump, as he flew to Rome on Friday for the pope’s funeral, told reporters that he’s pressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “very hard” to get food and medicine into Gaza but dismissed questions about how the Israeli leader is responding to his appeal.
“Well, he knows all about it, OK?” Trump told reporters.
Hewitt, the National Security Council spokesman, pushed back on the notion that Trump has fallen short on his effort to find an endgame to the Gaza conflict, setting the blame squarely on Hamas.
“While we continue to work to secure the release of all remaining hostages, Hamas has chosen violence over peace, and President Trump has ensured that Hamas continues to face the gates of hell until it releases the hostages and disarms,” Hewitt said.
Trump’s team says the president has racked up more foreign policy wins than any other US president this early in a term.
The White House counts among its early victories invoking a 1798 wartime law, the Alien Enemies Act, to deport Venezuelan migrants it accuses of being gang members, securing the release of at least 46 Americans detained abroad, and carrying out hundreds of military strikes in Yemen against Houthi militants who have been attacking commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea.
Trump hopeful for Iran nuclear deal breakthrough
The White House this month also launched direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program, a renewed push to solve another of the most delicate foreign policy issues facing the White House and the Middle East.
Trump says his administration is making progress in its effort to secure a deal with Iran to scupper Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.
Witkoff flew directly from meeting with Putin in Moscow to Muscat, Oman, to take part in talks on Saturday, the third engagement between US and Iranian officials this month.
The US and other world powers in 2015 reached a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran’s enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. But Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the nuclear agreement in 2018, calling it the “worst deal ever.”
Since Trump pulled out of the Obama-era deal, Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium.
The president said on Friday that he’s open to meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or President Masoud Pezeshkian, while also indicating military action — something that US ally Israel has advocated — remains an option.
As Trump increasingly expresses his preference for diplomacy rather than military action, Iran hawks at home are urging him to tread carefully in his hunt for a legacy-defining deal.
“The Iranians would have the talking point that they forced the same person who left the deal many years later, after them resisting maximum pressure, into an equal or worse deal,” said Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
But Trump wants a solution, and fast.
“I think a deal is going to be made there,” Trump said Sunday “That’s going to happen pretty soon.”
