Obama and Netanyahu to meet in Washington to improve US-Israel ties

The US president and the Israeli prime minister will meet at the White House this week amid growing tensions. Among the topics the two will discuss are Iran and the ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

Obama and Netanyahu will meet in Washington on Monday for the first time in over a year.
The face-to-face talks come as the once rock-solid relations between the two countries have started to fracture, spurred in part by tensions over the controversial Iran nuclear deal and the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
The meeting's main purpose is to reaffirm security ties between the US and Israel, though many observers see it as an effort by the two leaders - whose animosity toward each other has been an open secret for years - to patch things up.
Bitter relations
Relations between the two countries worsened following the signing of the nuclear agreement with Iran, which Netanayahu sees as an existential threat to his country. The prime minister angered White House officials when he visited Congress to lobby lawmakers to ditch the agreement, a move that was seen by some as subversive and even insulting on the leader's part. Tellinglly, Obama didn't meet with Netanyahu during that visit to Washington.
The Israeli leader has further alienated Obama by appointing a conservative commentator , Ran Baratz, as his spokesman. Baratz has called Obama anti-semitic and has also criticized US Secretary of State John Kerry.
The stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process will also be a subject of dicussion, as the wave of violence that has left at least 11 Israelis and more than 70 Palestinians dead continues unabated.

Thailand astrologer accused of defaming royals dies in military custody

A prominent fortune teller accused of insulting the monarchy has in a military prison. 53-year-old Thai celebrity is second person to die in custody after being charged with 'lese majeste.'

Thailand's Justice Ministry says Suriyan Sujaritpalawong, a celebrity fortune teller known to the public as "Mor Yong" died of a blood infection Saturday.
His death comes about two weeks after he and his assistant were detained in connection with a high-profile case in which people have been accused of claiming royal connections in order to enrich themselves financially.
The Thai royal family is protected by one of the world's toughest royal defamation laws and prosecutions under it have skyrocketed since a military coup in May 2014.
Thai journalists often must self-censor their reporting on the elite royals in order to avoid falling foul of the strict law that can carry sentences of up to 15 years.
Last seen alive October 21

Famous Astrologer 'Mor Yong' Dies in Custody (Developing Story) https://t.co/f0hWY0ms8R pic.twitter.com/qxJq1d74YO

— Khaosod English (@KhaosodEnglish) November 9, 2015

Thailand's Corrections Department said the 53-year-old celebrity soothsayer, a former aide to Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, was taken to hospital after he was discovered by guards unconscious in his cell.
"A hospital tried to revive him for about an hour, but they were unsuccessful," the statement said, adding that an autopsy carried out the following day showed he had succumbed to blood poisoning.
Suriyan's death raises questions over the military's role in a royal defamation probe that has swept up a string of high-profile figures including a senior police officer who was found hanged in his cell on October 24, just two days after his arrest. His body was swiftly cremated in yet-to-be-explained circumstances.
Justice Minister Paiboon Khumchaya, himself a former general, told reporters Monday that the prison was not at fault for deaths in custody.
"Sometimes prisoners die in prison," Khumchaya told reporters. He added that a fraud suspect had recently died while in detention. "But there was no reporting on it because he was not a man in the news."
Royal defamation law stifles debate

Thailand's 87-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej - seen in this file photo from late 2012 - is in declining health. The military regime that last year ousted the elected civilian government has declared "defense of the monarchy" as a top priority.

Critics say the majority of those prosecuted for royal defamation are being punished for expressing views critical of the monarchy.
About a dozen recent cases have involved palace or establishment figures charged in secrecy-shrouded investigations of improperly using their connections with the monarchy to enrich themselves.
Thailand's king is a frail 87-year-old whose heir apparent is unclear. The royal defamation law has prevented public discussion about this uncertainty and has created a nervous climate amidst this open question.
jar/jil (AP, AFP, Reuters)

Kosovo's UNESCO bid fails to muster support

Kosovo has failed to gain enough support to join the UN cultural body in a setback for its bid for international recognition as a state. The vote is seen as a victory for Russia and Serbia.

A majority of members of the UN cultural agency supported Kosovo but its bid failed to secure the required two-thirds majority amid stiff resistance from Serbia and Russia.
Of 142 countries voting, Kosovo received 92 "yes" votes, falling short of the 94 needed for a two-thirds majority. A few dozen countries abstained from voting and 50 voted "no."
Kosovo has been recognized by 111 countries, including the United States and many European states, since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008. However, it has failed to gain enough support to overcome Serbian and Russian opposition to take up a seat at the UN.
Inclusion in the UN's organization for science, culture and education would have been be a major step toward joining the UN itself. Kosovo is already a member of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and has signed an association agreement with the EU.
Two monasteries and two churches in Kosovo are on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
The Balkan state has said it would protect Serbian cultural heritage if elected to the UN cultural body.
Kosovo separated from Serbia in 1999 after NATO intervened to stop the expulsion of ethnic Albanians by Serbian forces fighting a rebel insurgency.
The EU has been working to broker a normalization of relations between the two Balkan neighbors, which Serbia said would be endangered by Kosovo's UNESCO bid.