JERUSALEM – Israel’s defense minister announced his resignation Friday, saying the governing party had been taken over by “extremist and dangerous elements” and that he no longer trusts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The departure of Moshe Yaalon – one of the last moderate voices in the Likud Party – deepens the rift in the Cabinet between the security establishment and the hard-line politicians.
Netanyahu reportedly intends to appoint former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to the post of defense minister. The 57-year-old Lieberman is one of Israel’s most polarizing politicians. Over three decades, he has at times been Netanyahu’s closest ally and at other times a fierce rival.
MILAN – A state maritime museum in Christopher Columbus’ birthplace of Genoa has asked Italy’s culture minister to let it become the custodian of the recently recovered 1493 letter in which the explorer described his discoveries.
The director of the Galata Sea Museum told The Associated Press on Friday she wants to put the letter on display in a room dedicated to Columbus’ achievements where it can be both well-preserved and shared with the public, not put away in an archive.
Maria Paola Profumo made her request Thursday in a letter to Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini.
ISTANBUL, Turkey – Turkey’s parliament on Friday approved a bill to amend the constitution to strip lawmakers of immunity, a move that paves the way for trials of several pro-Kurdish and other legislators.
A total of 376 deputies in the 550-seat assembly in Ankara voted in favor of the government-backed bill, which was enough to avoid a referendum. It now needs to be ratified by the president.
The amendment was proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party after the president accused the pro-Kurdish party, People’s Democratic Party, HDP, of being an arm of outlawed Kurdish rebels and repeatedly called for their prosecution on terror related charges. It puts 138 lawmakers, the vast majority of them from two opposition parties, at risk of prosecution.
Associated Press
