Trump announces “Peace to Prosperity” plan
President Donald Trump on Tuesday finally unveiled his Middle East peace plan. Titled “Peace to Prosperity”, the plan essentially provides for an independent Palestinian state and the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements with Jerusalem as its capital. The plan was immediately rejected by Palestinians, who were not consulted. The Guardian highlights some of the key points. Reuters reports that Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi said that the two state solution was the only path to lasting peace. The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen reckons the plan is a huge gamble, while The Washington Post’s Paul Waldman says the plan is “absurd” and will “go precisely nowhere". And Marwan Bishara writing for Aljazeera argues that what he calls “US arrogance towards the Palestinians” will backfire. But Eugene Kontorovich for Fox News says the plan is “fair and just” and that Palestinians are wrong to reject it. In Israel, Haaretz says that the “list of reasons why the Trump peace plan is destined to fail is long”, but reckons its vision, to end Palestinian hope of ever having a state of their own, could work. And The Times of Israel points out an apparent contradiction in the text regarding prayer on the Temple Mount.
Netanyahu indicted
Meanwhile, indictment charges against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu--who was with Trump in Washington as he unveiled his peace plan--were filed on Tuesday with the Jerusalem District Court, The Times of Israel reports. Netanyahu had earlier announced that he was withdrawing his request for parliamentary immunity against the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
UK gives Huawei limited 5G role
Chinese tech firm Huawei has been given the green light to build some elements of the UK’s 5G network, The Guardian, the BBC and CNN report. Huawei will have a 35% cap on its market share in the new technology. As expected, the White House said it was “disappointed” with the decision, according to CNBC. But Politico reports that some Republican senators were more vocal in their disapproval, with Nebraska’s Ben Sasse cited as saying that the “special relationship is less special now that the U.K. has embraced the surveillance state commies at Huawei.” US secretary of state Mike Pompeo is visiting London today to discuss trade, Foreign Brief reports.
Coronavirus evacuations
Chinese officials say the death toll from the coronavirus outbreak has hit 132, CNBC reports in a live blog. The South China Morning Post reports 840 newly confirmed cases. The US is evacuating some 240 its citizens from Wuhan, says Fox News, the EU is dispatching two flights to evacuate at least 350 citizens according to The New York Times (paywall), and Japan has also managed to return 206 of its nationals, says Reuters.
Brexit talks to start 3 March
Leaked internal document from the EU member states, seen by the Guardian, suggest that negotiations on the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU will start on 3 March. That leaves just 10 months in which to agree a trade deal, as British prime minister Boris Johnson has insisted there will be no extension to the so-called transition period beyond 31 December.
Northern Ireland sticking point
Meanwhile, the BBC reports that both Michael Gove, who has oversight of Brexit, and Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith, have reiterated the UK government’s position that Northern Ireland businesses will have “unfettered access” to the UK market after Brexit. This contradicts a statement by EU negotiator Michel Barnier, as reported by The Irish Times on Monday evening, that the terms of the UK’s withdrawal agreement “makes frictionless trade impossible.”
Serenade for British MEPs
MEPs in Brussels will debate and vote on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement at around 4pm today. The BBC reckons the UK’s departing representatives in the parliament “are expected to be serenaded by their colleagues in a special ceremony.”
Chick shredding ban in pipeline
France and Germany look set to ban the practice of slaughtering male chicks as soon as they are hatched, The Telegraph reports. Many producers have been macerating male chicks in high-speed grinders as they argue that raising them to adulthood is economically unviable.
Caribbean earthquake
The BBC reports that a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in the Caribbean on Tuesday was centred between Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cuba. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Kobe tweet reporter reinstated
Felicia Sonmez, the reporter suspended by The Washington Post for tweeting a story about Kobe Bryant’s rape allegations charges just after news of his death emerged on Sunday, has been reinstated. The paper says that while it considered the tweets ill-timed, Sonmez “was not in clear and direct violation of our social media policy.”
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts