Month: March 2023

“They cannot continue down this road,” Joe Biden told reporters.

Mr Netanyahu later tweeted that Israel would make its own decisions, “not based on pressures from abroad”.

It comes after protests this week brought Israel to a standstill, forcing him to pause the proposals.

The protests have intensified since Mr Netanyahu returned to power at the end of last year, leading the most right-wing, nationalist government in Israel’s history and promising to curb the powers of the judiciary.

His plans would give the government full control over the committee which appoints judges and would ultimately strip the Supreme Court of crucial powers to strike down legislation that it saw as effectively unconstitutional.

Mr Netanyahu says they would stop the courts over-reaching their powers and that they were voted for by the public at the last election. But most legal scholars say they would effectively destroy the independence of the judiciary, while opposition figures describe them as an attempted “regime coup”.

Tens of thousands of people protested across the country on Sunday and Monday, and the biggest trade union called a general strike, after the prime minister sacked Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for publicly urging a halt to the reforms.

Mr Netanyahu eventually bowed to the pressure and announced on Monday night that he was pausing the judicial changes until the next session of parliament to allow time for dialogue.

Representatives from the governing coalition and the two biggest opposition parties in parliament – Yesh Atid and National Unity – met for the first time at President Isaac Herzog’s residence on Tuesday. Mr Herzog’s office said their discussions on a framework for the talks “took place in a positive spirit”.

The president also met representatives of the opposition United Arab List, Hadash-Taal and Labour parties on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to North Carolina on Tuesday, Mr Biden urged the coalition to abandon the reforms.

“Like many strong supporters of Israel I’m very concerned, and I’m concerned that they get this straight,” he said.

“Hopefully, the prime minister will act in a way that he can try to work out some genuine compromise, but that remains to be seen.”

The Israeli prime minister, clearly angered, took to Twitter late at night in response, writing: “Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.”

He stressed that his coalition was “committed to strengthening democracy by restoring the proper balance between the three branches of government, which we are striving to achieve via a broad consensus”.

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz said Mr Biden had sent the Israeli government an “urgent wake-up call”.

“Damage to our ties with the US, our closest friend and our most important ally, is a strategic blow,” he tweeted.

Mr Biden said he was not interfering, but he seemed to brim with scepticism when he referred to Mr Netanyahu’s apparent attempts now to reach a compromise over the plans.

Since become prime minister again Mr Netanyahu has yet to receive an invite to Washington, now being seen as a test of whether the White House is happy with him.

When he asked on Tuesday whether he planned to send an invitation soon, Mr Biden replied: “No, not in the near term.”

The president is a strongly pro-Israel Democrat, but Mr Netanyahu has a chequered past with him due to the anger sparked in the Obama administration when the Israeli leader tried to derail the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

During this week’s crisis, Mr Netanyahu’s government was reportedly bombarded by warnings from the Biden administration that he was imperilling Israel’s reputation as the sole democracy in the region.

Mr Netanyahu will likely have used the pressure as a way to get his far-right coalition partners to agree to pause the judicial reforms – warning of a crisis in relations with the US – thereby lowering the price of demands from them.

The two leading ultranationalists in the coalition – Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir – both eventually fell in line with Mr Netanyahu after talks on Monday.

Mr Ben-Gvir said he agreed with the legislative pause in exchange for a promise from the prime minister to advance his plans for a “national guard” reporting to him directly and funded through part of a multi-billion dollar budget.

Opponents and police officials condemn the idea calling it a “private militia” that will reap “chaos”. However, there is scepticism in the Israeli media about whether the plan will actually go ahead.

The Biden administration has spent weeks dialling up the pressure on Mr Netanyahu to seek compromise with opponents over the judicial reform plans.

Earlier this year, during a visit to Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stood next to Mr Netanyahu in what amounted to a public dressing down, listing the administration’s expectations for “democracy” and “shared values” by the Israeli government.

Mr Yousaf took the oath of office during a short ceremony at the Court of Session on Tuesday morning.

He will soon begin to announce his ministerial appointments.

Kate Forbes, the finance secretary he narrowly defeated in the SNP leadership contest, is leaving government after turning down a move to rural affairs.

BBC Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell said he understands that Ms Forbes felt the SNP’s partnership agreement with the Scottish Greens would have “tied her hands and cost her dearly in her constituency”.

Ivan McKee, who had been the business minister under Nicola Sturgeon, will also leave the government.

Mr McKee had initially been campaign manager for Ms Forbes in the leadership contest but stepped back from that role after early controversies in her campaign.

He was offered a job by Mr Yousaf that he viewed as being a demotion and will now not be a part of the new first minister’s team.

Potential members of Mr Yousaf’s new ministerial team, including his leadership campaign manager Neil Gray, have been arriving at his Bute House residence throughout the morning.

He has already confirmed that Shona Robison – a close friend of Nicola Sturgeon – will serve as his deputy first minister.

Ms Robison, who as social justice secretary played a key role in introducing the controversial gender recognition legislation, was one of the MSPs who nominated Mr Yousaf for SNP leader.

The first minister has also re-appointed Ms Sturgeon’s chief of staff, Colin McAllister, to the same role.

During the SNP leadership campaign Mr Yousaf said he favoured a “big tent” rather than “inner circle” approach to making key decisions and has pledged to bring the party back together again after deep divisions were exposed by the contest.

He faced withering criticism of his own ministerial record from Ms Forbes in a live STV debate, while her views on issues such as gender recognition reform and gay marriage led the Scottish Greens to question whether they could work with her.

Given the narrow margin of his victory over Ms Forbes, by 52.1% to 47.9%, some of her supporters had urged Mr Yousaf to keep her in government.

The BBC understands she was offered the job of rural affairs secretary – which would generally be regarded as a demotion from finance secretary – but turned it down and will return to the backbenches.

She later tweeted that Mr Yousaf had her full support and she had “full confidence that he will appoint a talented cabinet and ministerial team”.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said Mr Yousaf had “poured petrol on the SNP civil war” by effectively trying to demote Ms Forbes despite her being backed by almost half of the party members who voted in the leadership contest.

Ms Robison told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland that the new cabinet’s number one priority would be the cost of living crisis.

She also denied Ms Forbes had been snubbed by the new first minister.

Ms Robison said the first meeting Mr Yousaf had after being confirmed as the SNP’s new leader on Monday was with Ms Forbes at Murrayfield.

“He made clear that he wanted Kate to be in government and they spoke on a number of occasions over the last two days about a role in government,” Ms Robison said.

“I understand the discussion was very cordial and was very much centred on what Kate’s thoughts were.

“I really hope Kate makes a return to government at some point in the future.”

Asked if Ms Forbes had been offered a demotion, Ms Robison told the BBC all government roles were important.

She added: “I know that the first minister was prepared to look at other roles, but after consideration it was Kate who made it clear that she wanted out of the spotlight.”

Ms Robison also confirmed she would not be taking up the post of health secretary for a second time.

Another key supporter of Mr Yousaf’s leadership campaign, Neil Gray, is also tipped for an important role in his government.

Humza Yousaf is the first member of an ethnic minority to lead the Scottish government and, at 37, he will be the country’s youngest first minister.

He was nominated as first minister at Holyrood on Tuesday, securing 71 votes from SNP and Green MSPs with whom he plans to continue a power-sharing agreement.

He formally becomes first minster once he has taken the official oath in front of the Lord President of the Court of Session and other senior judges on Wednesday morning.

Mr Yousaf has confirmed that he intends to appoint a “minister for independence”, something he had promised during the hustings.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called him on Tuesday afternoon to congratulate him on his new role.

Mr Sunak is said to have “reiterated his desire to continue working constructively with the Scottish government” to deliver on what he argued were the “peoples priorities across Scotland, including the need to half inflation, delivering growth, and cut waiting times.”

Mr Yousaf raised the issue of an independence referendum, but Mr Sunak suggested this would “distract” from “delivering on the things that are top of the priority list for people across Scotland”.

The first minister designate tweeted that they had a “constructive discussion” on a range of issues, including helping people through the cost of living crisis.

“I also made clear that I expect the democratic wishes of Scotland’s people and Parliament to be respected by the UK government,” he added.

Eighteen cutting-edge main battle tanks were delivered after Ukrainian crews were trained to use them.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he was sure the tanks could “make a decisive contribution” on the frontlines of the war.

Challenger 2 tanks from the UK have also arrived, according to reports from Ukraine.

Ukraine has been calling for more modern vehicles and weapon systems for months to help fight Russia’s invasion.

The Ukrainian government is yet to comment on the arrival of the Leopard 2s, but they have confirmed the arrival of the first UK-made Challenger 2 tanks.

Around 2,000 Leopard 2s, widely regarded as being among the best main battle tanks produced by Nato countries, are in use by European countries.

Germany agreed to supply the tanks to Ukraine in January, after being initially reluctant to do so – or even to permit other countries from sending their own.

Under German law, Berlin must approve Leopard 2s being re-exported by any country.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the tanks “have made it into the hands of our Ukrainian friends as promised and on time”.

The German army has trained Ukrainian tank crews to use the advanced A6 variant of the Leopard 2 over the past several weeks.

They have been specifically designed to compete with the Russian T-90 main battle tank and is considered to be easier to maintain and more fuel-efficient than most other Western tanks.

On top of the Leopard 2s, Germany has also sent Ukraine two specialist tank-recovery vehicles and 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

Meanwhile, Challenger 2 tanks from the UK “are in Ukraine already”, defence ministry spokeswoman Iryna Zolotar told AFP news agency.

Posting a picture of a Challenger 2 alongside other Western-made military vehicles on his Facebook page, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov described the British vehicle as a work of military art.

The UK Ministry of Defence declined to comment but earlier confirmed Ukrainian tank crews training in Britain had returned home after completing their training with the tanks.

About 70 people are believed to have been inside the centre run by Mexico’s National Migration Institute when the fire broke out.

Local media say at least three dozen people have died in the blaze.

There has been no official statement on the incident yet but news agency Efe said its reporter had seen body bags lined up outside the facility.

Local media say that the building where the fire broke out was holding migrants who had been picked up by the authorities on Monday.

The facility is located near the Stanton-Lerdo Bridge, which links Mexico and the US.

There has been no official statement about what may have caused the blaze but local newspapers reported that there had been a disturbance inside the centre just before the fire.

Photographs released by Reuters show a number of bodies covered in foil blankets lying outside the building.

Many of the victims are thought to be Venezuelans trying to make their way to the United States.

Ciudad Juárez, the Mexican city located just across the Rio Grande river from El Paso, Texas, has seen an influx of people in recent weeks.

Many migrants have been heading to the southern border of the United States in expectation of an end to Title 42, a policy which gives the US government the power to quickly expel migrants trying to cross its border.

Title 42, which allows US border officials to deny individuals entry to the US “to prevent the spread of communicable disease” was was first implemented at the start of the Covid pandemic.

The Biden Administration has announced its intention to end the use of the Trump-era policy but for now it remains in place.

Since the announcement, the number of migrants in Ciudad Juárez awaiting the possible lifting of the restrictions has swelled.

The North has long claimed it has tactical nuclear weapons, capable of hitting targets in South Korea.

But the photos published in its state newspaper on Tuesday are the first time it has provided evidence.

However, it is impossible to verify whether they are the real deal. Until North Korea tests one of these devices, we are left guessing.

Pyongyang has spent the past fortnight firing a barrage of what it says are nuclear-capable weapons, while simulating nuclear attacks on Seoul.

Admittedly it is hard to keep track of North Korea’s missile launches these days. The tests in isolation no longer generate the headlines they used to, but if we look at them all together there is much we can learn.

North Korea says it is punishing the US and South Korea for holding their largest military drills in years. The allies have been practising how to defeat the North in the event of an attack. This is not a scenario its leader Kim Jong Un relishes.

Only this is not a typical North Korean protest. In the past it has responded to such drills by firing off a mix of short, medium, and long-range missiles, and perhaps some artillery shells.

This time, over the course of two weeks, Pyongyang has launched its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, which can reach anywhere on the US mainland, in theory.

It has fired missiles from a submarine, and from what appears to be an underground silo. Its military has simulated a nuclear attack on a South Korean airfield.

And Kim Jong Un has unveiled a new underwater drone, which he claims can fire nuclear weapons under the sea to unleash a “super-scale radioactive tsunami” and destroy enemy warships.

On top of this, it has now unveiled nuclear warheads it claims can be fitted to these weapons.

This is an eclectic and troubling line-up.

Analyst Ellen Kim, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, described it to me as “the North Korean equivalent of a fashion show” – a nod to the Dior-style jacket Mr Kim’s daughter was spotted wearing to one of the launches.

Analysts, including Ms Kim, are concerned by the diversity of the collection that has been paraded this season. Pyongyang has unveiled new and more sophisticated, weapons, which can be fired from sea and land to target the US, South Korea, and Japan.

“Before, we did not know they were able to fire cruise missiles from submarines, or missiles from under the ground. Its weapons are becoming much more difficult to track and intercept,” Ms Kim said.

This raises the nuclear threat North Korea poses.

Take the cruise missiles fired from a submarine as an example. These missiles are the most concerning to Yang Uk, a weapons expert from the Asan Institute in Seoul. As he explains, firing a missile from under the water makes it harder to detect ahead of launch. After launch, cruise missiles fly low, and can be manoeuvred mid-flight, to outsmart missile defences.

Kim Jong Un has always feared the US will attack his country first, and wipe out its weapons before he has the chance to use them. The message he appears to be sending with this array of tests, is that the North now has the ability to strike back, or even strike first. It is difficult to destroy weapons concealed underground or underwater.

In other words he is saying “don’t think about attacking us”.

However, we should exercise caution. Mr Kim has a tendency to exaggerate his military’s abilities.

The lingering question has always been whether North Korea actually has the nuclear warheads to attach to these missiles. Most of the weapons displayed recently would only be able to carry a very small, lightweight warhead. Until now, we have seen no proof Pyongyang has managed to develop them.

On Tuesday, it provided the first piece of evidence. Photos published in the main state newspaper show Kim Jong Un inspecting a row of what it said were small nuclear warheads.

There is no way to verify the warheads are what they say. This is why the intelligence community has been holding its breath for so long, waiting for said nuclear test.

The moment North Korea is able to build miniaturised warheads on a mass scale, it the moment its simulated threats become real, and it can strike South Korea and Japan with nuclear weapons.

There are some who argue the US and the international community should be doing more to get the North back to the negotiating table, to prevent this nuclear test. Talks between the two sides have but stalled for more than four years. But Pyongyang has shown no sign it wants to talk. It tends to pick the moment when it thinks it has the most to gain.

With China and Russia refusing to punish North Korea at the UN Security Council, it can continue developing its weapons without consequence. Why stop now? The better its weapons, the stronger its hand, and it still has more to prove.

In addition to miniaturised warheads, it is yet to demonstrate that its regular warheads can survive a full intercontinental flight. Currently, the North tests long-range missiles by firing them high into space. It also wants to develop a more sophisticated ICBM, that does not need to be fuelled before launch, and so can be fired with less warning.

Yang Uk believes Kim Jong Un is also being driven by a desperate situation at home. With a flailing economy, and his people going hungry, his advancing nuclear weapons programme is “the only card he has left to play”, Yang says.

North Korea therefore looks set to forge ahead, developing an ever more diverse and deadlier range of weapons.

For Ellen Kim, only one thing is certain: “More tests will come.

The health secretary was endorsed by far more MSPs and MPs than his two rivals, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney predicting that Mr Yousaf would “complete our journey to independence”.

He is undoubtedly the most experienced of the three leadership contenders, having served in government since 2012 in roles including justice secretary and transport minister.

His supporters say he is a polished communicator who is best placed to unite the party and maintain the power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens after what has been a deeply fractious leadership contest.

Mr Yousaf is a close ally of Ms Sturgeon and is generally seen as the “continuity candidate” who would seek to continue the work of the outgoing first minister.

He is the only one of the three contenders to have said they would challenge the UK government’s block on Ms Sturgeon’s controversial gender recognition reforms in the courts, arguing that independence will only be won if the party continues to push “progressive values”.

But he has stressed that he would only go to court if the legal advice suggested that a challenge could be successful.

Mr Yousaf has distanced himself from Ms Sturgeon’s plan to use the next election as a de facto referendum, saying that he would instead seek to build a “consistent majority” in favour of independence and it “isn’t good enough to have polls that put support for independence at 50% or 51%”.

But he has attempted to reach out to more impatient independence supporters by saying he would consider calling a snap Holyrood election to test support for leaving the UK.

Mr Yousaf also rejected claims that the party hierarchy was doing everything it could to ensure he won the leadership contest following allegations that the shortened campaign was specifically designed to favour him.

And he has said he would be willing to listen to concerns over controversial policies such as proposals for a new national care service and the bottle return scheme.

Speaking to the BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show earlier in the contest, Mr Yousaf insisted that he was his “own man and will do things my own way”.

Mr Yousaf added: “I have a lot of admiration, as you would imagine, for the excellent work Nicola Sturgeon has done as first minister.

“But she had a certain leadership approach. Mine would be less inner circle and more big tent.”

Critics claim that Mr Yousaf has “failed upwards” with few accomplishments to show for his time in government, with Labour’s Jackie Baillie describing him as “the worst health secretary on record” who “now aspires to be the worst first minister on record”.

But the most withering assessment has come from his fellow SNP leadership contender Kate Forbes, who told Mr Yousaf during a live STV debate that: “You were transport minister and the trains were never on time, when you were justice secretary the police were stretched to breaking point, and now as health minister we’ve got record high waiting times”.

Mr Yousaf’s clashes with Ms Forbes were a key feature of the contest, with Mr Yousaf claiming his rival’s views on social issues such as gay marriage, trans rights and abortion would see the party “lurch to the right”.

But Mr Yousaf has also faced questions over his failure to take part in the final vote on gay marriage in 2014, which he said was due to having a vital meeting about a Scot who was being held on death row in Pakistan on blasphemy charges.

Alex Salmond, who was first minister at the time, told Sky News that Mr Yousaf had missed the vote because of religious pressure from a Glasgow mosque – an allegation Mr Yousaf has strongly denied.

When the 37-year-old is confirmed as Scotland’s first minister, he will make history as the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.

His father is originally from Pakistan and emigrated to Scotland with his family in the 1960s, while his mother was born into a South Asian family in Kenya, and Mr Yousaf has often spoken of the racist abuse he has received.

He was forced to call the police after allegedly receiving threats at the start of the leadership contest, with a 25-year-old man and 35-year-old woman being arrested and charged.

Mr Yousaf was educated at the Hutchesons’ Grammar private school in Glasgow, where he was two years behind Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

After studying politics at Glasgow University, he briefly worked in a call centre before becoming a parliamentary assistant to SNP MSP Bashir Ahmad and later an aide to Alex Salmond.

Mr Yousaf was elected as a list MSP for the Glasgow region in 2011, with Mr Salmond promoting him to minister for Europe and international development just a year later.

He became transport minister in 2016 after winning Glasgow Pollok from Labour, which made him the first ethnic minority candidate to win a constituency seat in the Scottish Parliament.

Six months after taking on the transport portfolio, Mr Yousaf faced the embarrassment of being fined £300 and having six penalty points added to his licence after being stopped by the police while driving his friend’s car without the proper insurance.

He also faced criticism for the performance of ScotRail after Abellio took over the contract to run the rail franchise, which ultimately led to it being nationalised.

Mr Yousaf was promoted again in 2018 when Ms Sturgeon named him as the new justice secretary as part of a reshuffle of her cabinet team.

But his flagship hate crime bill was mired in controversy over fears that the new offence of “stirring up hatred” could have a major impact on freedom of speech.

Critics said the legislation could lead to libraries and bookshops being prosecuted for having contentious books on their shelves, with the new law also potentially criminalising people for private conversations in their own home.

The bill was described by former SNP deputy leader Jim Sillars as being “one of the most pernicious and dangerous pieces of legislation ever produced by any government in modern times in any part of the United Kingdom”.

It was eventually passed by MSPs in March 2021 after a series of changes were made, but has still not become law.

Mr Yousaf was also criticised for tweeting about his “disgust” over a video supposedly showing Rangers players using sectarian language that quickly turned out to be fake.

And he dismissed concerns about the state of Scotland’s police buildings as “hyperbole” just hours before the ceiling collapsed at Broughty Ferry police station near Dundee. Mr Yousaf had recently moved to the town.

Within three weeks of becoming health secretary in May 2021, Mr Yousaf apologised for any “undue alarm” he had caused by wrongly claiming that 10 children had been hospitalised “because of Covid”.

He also famously fell off a knee scooter that he was using in the Scottish Parliament while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon that he had suffered while playing badminton.

When video of his tumble was tweeted by BBC Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell, Mr Yousaf replied: “If anyone else had fallen over while on crutches, a knee scooter, or in a wheelchair would your first instinct be to film it & tweet out?”

His time as health secretary has been characterised by soaring hospital waiting times – although Mr Yousaf points out that these problems are not unique to Scotland, and that the country is the only part of the UK to have avoided strikes by NHS staff.

Mr Yousaf’s supporters – who include the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn as well as Mr Swinney – point to his achievements, such as delivering the Queensferry Crossing on time and under budget while he had responsibility for transport and falling crime figures while he was justice secretary.

Mr Flynn said he believed Mr Yousaf was best placed to tackle the country’s economic challenges and praised his plan to fast-track the expansion of childcare to one and two-year-olds as a “real gamechanger for both working families and the wider economy”.

Mr Yousaf and his wife Nadia El-Nakla – an SNP councillor in Dundee – recently dropped a £30,000 legal claim against a nursery they had accused of discrimination.

The couple claimed to have been told there was no space for their daughter at the nursery in Broughty Ferry, but that applicants with “white Scottish-sounding names” were accepted.

The nursery had said any claim that it was not open and inclusive to all was “demonstrably false” and that it had been forced to spend tens of thousands of pounds “defending our small nursery against their false claims”.

The Care Inspectorate had previously upheld a formal complaint made by Mr Yousaf and Ms El-Nakla about the nursery.