JERUSALEM – Israel is rejecting remarks by President Barack Obama contending it no longer opposes the nuclear deal that world powers struck with Iran in 2015.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that “Israel’s view on the Iran deal remains unchanged.” Israel’s Defense Ministry reportedly compared the deal to the 1938 Munich Pact ahead of World War II, which Britain and France signed with Germany and which averted war at the time but effectively gave then-Czechoslovakia to the Nazis.
Obama said in remarks on Thursday that the Iran deal is working and that “it’s the assessment of the Israeli military and intelligence community ... that acknowledges this has been a game-changer.”
TOKYO – Japan’s Emperor Akihito will issue a rare video message to the public Monday amid speculation he wants to abdicate in the coming years.
Akihito in his recorded message will convey his thoughts about his official duties as a symbol, his status stipulated by the constitution, an Imperial Household Agency official said Friday on condition of anonymity, citing sensitivity of the issue.
Akihito is expected to avoid explicit reference to abdication, a step not written in imperial law and that would require a legal process he cannot request.
BERLIN – A poll conducted after a string of attacks in Germany shows satisfaction with Chancellor Angela Merkel sliding to its second-lowest level this year.
The telephone poll of 1,003 people for ARD television, conducted Monday and Tuesday and published Thursday night, found 47 percent of respondents satisfied with Merkel’s work down from 59 percent a month earlier.
The survey found 34 percent declared themselves satisfied with Merkel’s refugee policies, down eight points since April, but also that support for her conservative bloc was unchanged.
Associated Press
