http://www.firstpost.com Firstpost Mon, 20 May 2013 03:39:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://www.firstpost.com/world/hawking-snubs-israeli-conference-to-back-palestinians-765057.html#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 21:00:50 +0000 FP Staff http://www.firstpost.com/politics/hawking-snubs-israeli-conference-to-back-palestinians-765057.html JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The British cosmologist Stephen Hawking has pulled out of a prestigious Israeli conference as part of an academic boycott to protest against Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands, Cambridge University said on Wednesday. ]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/hawking-snubs-israeli-conference-to-back-palestinians-765057.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/peres-invites-pope-francis-to-israel-742953.html#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:45:10 +0000 FP Staff http://www.firstpost.com/politics/peres-invites-pope-francis-to-israel-742953.html VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Israeli President Shimon Peres invited Pope Francis on Tuesday to visit Israel, at his first meeting with the new pontiff who has appealed for peace in the Middle East. "I am expecting you in Jerusalem, not just me but the whole country of Israel," Peres told the pope in the presence of reporters after 30 minutes of private talks in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/peres-invites-pope-francis-to-israel-742953.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/pope-accepts-invite-to-israel-urges-peace-talks-742823.html#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:00:15 +0000 FP Staff http://www.firstpost.com/politics/pope-accepts-invite-to-israel-urges-peace-talks-742823.html VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume talks and make "courageous decisions" to bring peace after his first meeting with Israel's President Shimon Peres on Tuesday and accepted an invitation to visit the Holy Land. The two discussed the civil war in Syria, tensions in Iran and the scourge of anti-Semitism during half an hour of private talks in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/pope-accepts-invite-to-israel-urges-peace-talks-742823.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/pope-accepts-peres-invitation-to-israel-742793.html#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 20:15:10 +0000 FP Staff http://www.firstpost.com/politics/pope-accepts-peres-invitation-to-israel-742793.html VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Israeli President Shimon Peres invited Pope Francis on Tuesday to visit Israel, at his first meeting with the new pontiff who has appealed for peace in the Middle East. The pope accepted the invitation "with willingness and joy," a Vatican spokesman said, but there was no indication when a trip would be made]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/pope-accepts-peres-invitation-to-israel-742793.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/israeli-credibility-on-line-over-iran-nuclear-challenge-735599.html#comments Sun, 28 Apr 2013 16:30:12 +0000 FP Staff http://www.firstpost.com/politics/israeli-credibility-on-line-over-iran-nuclear-challenge-735599.html JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel risks a loss of credibility over both its "red line" for Iran's nuclear programme and its threat of military action, and its room for unilateral manoeuvre is shrinking. After years of veiled warnings that Israel might strike the Islamic Republic, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out an ultimatum at the United Nations last September. Iran, he said, must not amass enough uranium at 20 percent fissile purity to fuel one bomb if enriched further]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/israeli-credibility-on-line-over-iran-nuclear-challenge-735599.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/israelis-celebrate-65-years-of-independence-704172.html#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:36:15 +0000 hidden http://www.firstpost.com/?p=704172 Israel is celebrating 65 years of independence with barbeques, air force flyovers, and an international bible quiz.]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/israelis-celebrate-65-years-of-independence-704172.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/black-arab-rail-staff-kept-away-from-peres-visit-to-paris-union-701298.html#comments Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:00:09 +0000 FP Staff http://www.firstpost.com/politics/black-arab-rail-staff-kept-away-from-peres-visit-to-paris-union-701298.html PARIS (Reuters) - A French union has accused its national railway of keeping black and Arab employees out of sight when Israeli President Shimon Peres visited Paris to avoid him coming into contact with Muslims, and an investigation has been launched. The SNCF state railway concern and the Israeli Embassy denied the accusations. The Sud Rail union said the workers, employed by Itiremia, a subsidiary of SNCF, were deliberately kept off a rota when the station master selected extra staff for Peres's arrival by train at the Gare du Nord station last month. ]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/black-arab-rail-staff-kept-away-from-peres-visit-to-paris-union-701298.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/kerry-netanyahu-meet-to-revive-decade-old-mideast-peace-plan-690252.html#comments Mon, 08 Apr 2013 08:58:15 +0000 hidden http://www.firstpost.com/?p=690252 Kerry spent the morning of Israel's Holocaust memorial day visiting Yad Vashem. He was to meet later on Monday with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Israeli President Shimon Peres.]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/kerry-netanyahu-meet-to-revive-decade-old-mideast-peace-plan-690252.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/israel-says-fires-into-syria-after-golan-attack-on-troops-673471.html#comments Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:30:12 +0000 FP Staff http://www.firstpost.com/politics/israel-says-fires-into-syria-after-golan-attack-on-troops-673471.html JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front. It was not immediately clear whether Israel held Syrian troops or rebels responsible for what a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had been a deliberate attack on Israeli patrols in the occupied territory. ]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/israel-says-fires-into-syria-after-golan-attack-on-troops-673471.html/feed 0 http://www.firstpost.com/world/obama-tries-schmoozing-in-the-holy-land-670930.html#comments Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:30:09 +0000 FP Staff http://www.firstpost.com/politics/obama-tries-schmoozing-in-the-holy-land-670930.html JERUSALEM (Reuters) - From old-fashioned schmoozing to "I feel your pain" appeals, President Barack Obama is wading into Middle East diplomacy with a personal touch he has rarely displayed on the world stage. It is the kind of charm offensive he has been trying to pull off - with decidedly mixed results - with political opponents back home and which he now hopes will help advance peace prospects in a region mostly devoid of them. Even though skepticism runs as deep as the distrust between Israelis and Palestinians over Obama's latest effort, he was intent on testing the waters anyway in his first official trip this week to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. ]]> http://www.firstpost.com/world/obama-tries-schmoozing-in-the-holy-land-670930.html/feed 0