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Thursday 7 december 2017
Trump calls on Saudis to end Yemen blockade Korea Crisis:

By ZEKE MILLER allow food, fuel, water, and blockade on the country, least 125 deaths, according US flies B-1B over
Associated Press medicine to reach the Ye- with the aim of reinstat- to aid groups. On Tuesday, South in show of
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- meni people who desper- ing the internationally rec- the U.N. Security Council force over North
dent Donald Trump on ately need it,” Trump said in ognized government of warned of “the dire and
Wednesday called on Sau- a statement. Saleh’s successor, Abed deteriorating humanitarian By KIM TONG-HYUNG
di Arabia to end its Yemen A Saudi-led coalition has Rabbo Mansour Hadi. situation in Yemen,” saying Associated Press
blockade immediately, cit- been fighting to defeat Saleh was killed Monday by the country “stands at the SEOUL, South Korea (AP)
ing humanitarian concerns. the Iran-backed Houthis his former Houthi allies after brink of catastrophic fam- — The United States flew
“I have directed officials in — at one point allied with moving to switch allegianc- ine.” a B-1B supersonic bomb-
my Administration to call ex-President Ali Abdullah es in the bloody conflict. Yemen’s stalemated war er over South Korea on
the leadership of the King- Saleh’s forces in Yemen Violent clashes in Yemen’s has killed over 10,000 ci- Wednesday as part of a
dom of Saudi Arabia to re- — since March 2015. The capital, Sanaa, in recent vilians and displaced 3 massive combined aerial
quest that they completely coalition has imposed a days have resulted in at million.q exercise involving hun-
dreds of warplanes, a
Defiant Trump declares Jerusalem Israel’s capital clear warning after North
Korea last week tested its
biggest and most powerful
Continued from Front missile yet. South Korea’s
Joint Chiefs of Staff said
Trump cited several: the the Guam-based bomber
Western Wall that sur- simulated land strikes at
rounded the Jews’ ancient a military field near South
Temple, the Stations of the Korea’s eastern coast dur-
Cross that depict Jesus ing a drill with U.S. and
along his crucifixion path, South Korean fighter jets.
the al-Asqa Mosque where “Through the drill, the South
Muslims say their Prophet Korean and U.S. air forces
Muhammad ascended to displayed the allies’ strong
heaven. intent and ability to punish
And there are major rami- North Korea when threat-
fications over who should ened by nuclear weapons
control the territory. The and missiles,” the military
United States has never en- said in a statement.
dorsed the Jewish state’s B-1Bs flyovers have be-
claim of sovereignty over come an increasingly fa-
any part of Jerusalem and miliar show of force to
has seen the city’s future as North Korea, which after
indelibly linked to the “deal three intercontinental bal-
of the century” between listic missile tests has clear-
Israel and the Palestinians President Donald Trump speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Wednesday, ly moved closer toward
that Trump believes he Dec. 6, 2017, in Washington. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite intense Arab, building a nuclear arsenal
can reach. Beyond Kush- Muslim and European opposition to a move that would upend decades of U.S. policy and risk that could viably target the
potentially violent protests.
ner, Trump has dispatched U.S. mainland. The five-day
other top emissaries to the Europe, they issued warn- government is dominated State Rex Tillerson said work drills that began Monday
region in recent months in ings to Americans to watch by hardliners who oppose will begin immediately to involve more than 200 air-
hopes of advancing new out for violent protests. In Palestinian independence. identify a site. craft, including six U.S. F-22
negotiations. Jordan, home to a large Trump made no reference A non-governmental ex- and 18 F-35 stealth fighters.
Trump said he wasn’t de- Palestinian population, the to signing a waiver that of- pert on the Middle East North Korea hates such dis-
livering any verdict about U.S. said it would close its ficially delays any move of who consults regularly with plays of American military
where an Israeli-Palestinian embassy to the public on the U.S. Embassy from Tel the White House said the might at close range and
border should lie. Instead, Thursday and urged chil- Aviv to Jerusalem, but mul- Trump administration had claimed through its state
he described his Jerusalem dren of diplomats there to tiple officials confirmed he opted against an earlier media on Tuesday that the
declaration as recognizing stay home from school. signed the waiver Wednes- plan of converting the ex- “U.S. imperialist war mon-
the reality that most of Is- There was little in Trump’s day. It means there will be isting U.S. Consulate in Je- gers’ extremely reckless
rael’s government already statement to encourage no embassy move for at rusalem to an embassy. war hysteria” has put the
operates from the city, and the Palestinians. Although least another six months. Instead, it’s looking to con- region at risk of a nuclear
he suggested the U.S. ally he recited the longstand- Establishing a Jerusalem struct an entirely new fa- war. The North continued
should be rewarded for ing U.S. position that Jeru- embassy was a major cam- cility, said the individual, to describe the B-1B a “nu-
creating a successful de- salem’s borders must still be paign promise of Trump’s who wasn’t authorized to clear strategic bomber”
mocracy where “people of worked out through nego- and one that officials said disclose private conversa- although the plane was
all faiths are free to live and tiation, he made no rec- he focused on in discus- tions with U.S. officials and switched to conventional
worship.” ognition of the Palestinian sions with top advisers in re- requested anonymity. weaponry in the mid-1990s.
“Today we finally acknowl- claims to east Jerusalem. cent weeks. In making his decision, North Korea typically uses
edge the obvious,” he For the first time, Trump On Wednesday he focused Trump overruled more cau- strong language when
said, emphasizing that he did appear to endorse on his directive to the State tious counsel from Tillerson commenting on U.S.-South
wouldn’t follow past presi- the concept of an inde- Department to begin a and Defense Secretary Korean war games, which
dents who tiptoed around pendent Palestine existing process of moving the em- James Mattis, who voiced it claims are invasion re-
Jerusalem out of diplomat- alongside Israel. bassy as required by U.S. concern about endan- hearsals. Still, perennially
ic caution. Yet even that idea ap- law, however many years gering U.S. diplomats and bad tensions are at a par-
U.S. embassies and con- peared conditional, as that might take. After his troops in Muslim coun- ticularly dangerous point
sulates around the world he said he’d promote the speech, he signed a proc- tries, according to officials with North Korea rapidly
were put on high alert. “two-state solution” if both lamation to that effect. briefed on internal adminis- advancing its nuclear
Across the Middle East and sides agreed. Netanyahu’s In Germany, Secretary of tration deliberations. q weapons program. q