Body discovered in burned-out car is believed to be missing Greek ambassador to Brazil

A charred body discovered in a burned-out car is believed to be that of missing Greek ambassador to Brazil, Kyriakos Amiridis.

Amiridis, 59, disappeared without a trace of Monday when he left a family party and never returned.The ambassador’s wife reported him missing on Wednesday.

According to local television station Globo TV, she and a police officer she was romantically involved with are suspects in what is now being treated as a murder case.

However, police, Rio de Janeiro state security officials and Greek officials have refused to comment.Images of the burned-out white vehicle at the bottom of a hill n the Nova Iguacu neighhourhood, have been circulating online.It is alleged that the number plate on the car matches that of Amiridis’ rental vehicle.

He is believed to have been murdered at his home, where blood was found on a sofa.

Obama’s Christmas Gift to Trump: A Ministry of Truth

On the Friday before Christmas – the kind of time politicians pick to do things they hope you won’t notice – US president Barack Obama signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

Along with the usual terrible, horrible, very bad, no good NDAA stuff (all the little mandates involved in continuing to operate the most irresponsibly bloated and expensive military machine on the planet), this NDAA included an ugly little Christmas gift for incoming president Donald Trump: The Countering Foreign Disinformation and Propaganda Act.

The CFDAPA (yes, I’m going to give that mouthful an acronym) started out as a separate piece of “bipartisan” legislation introduced by US Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) Chris Murphy (D-CT). It got rolled into the NDAA for the same reason Obama signed it on the Friday before a holiday weekend. That is, to minimize public attention and mute criticism.

Some of the more overheated responses to the CFDAPA paint it as a scheme allowing the federal government to “outlaw” media outlets that don’t toe the government’s line: Just wave a magic wand, declare an impertinent blog to be “foreign disinformation and propaganda,” shut the blog down, and maybe drag the blogger off to Gitmo for a long chat.

No, it’s not quite that, at least in theory, but the prospect shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. And in some ways it’s actually worse.

Even given the regrettable decline in Americans’ vigilance against threats to our rights over the last few decades, straightforward, openly admitted political censorship would provoke widespread and likely effective resistance.

Instead, the CFDAPA sets aside $160 million over two years to, among other things, “support local independent media to refute foreign disinformation and manipulation in their communities.” That is, to bribe local media to publish Washington’s disinformation and propaganda instead of disinformation and propaganda from foreign sources. Not an entirely new project – the Office of National Drug Control Policy has been paying Hollywood to lie to us about marijuana for decades now.

The CFDAPA’s purpose is to set the federal government up as the plenary arbiter of truth and to marginalize any and all narratives that don’t accord with whatever line gets pushed out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in drag.

Overt censorship might not be far behind. Facebook and Twitter are already cooperating with the US government in “countering Islamic State Disinformation and Propaganda.” And remember that only a only a year ago, Donald Trump publicly called for “closing” parts of the Internet used for recruitment by the Islamic State. CFDAPA isn’t just bad on its own merits – it’s also tailor-made for abusive expansion by an unbridled chief executive.

Repeal of this abomination should be 2017’s policy priority number one for freedom-loving Americans.

Thomas L. Knapp is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism. He lives and works in north central Florida. This article is reprinted with permission from William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism.

Obama’s Christmas Gift to Trump: A Ministry of Truth

On the Friday before Christmas – the kind of time politicians pick to do things they hope you won’t notice – US president Barack Obama signed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

Along with the usual terrible, horrible, very bad, no good NDAA stuff (all the little mandates involved in continuing to operate the most irresponsibly bloated and expensive military machine on the planet), this NDAA included an ugly little Christmas gift for incoming president Donald Trump: The Countering Foreign Disinformation and Propaganda Act.

The CFDAPA (yes, I’m going to give that mouthful an acronym) started out as a separate piece of “bipartisan” legislation introduced by US Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) Chris Murphy (D-CT). It got rolled into the NDAA for the same reason Obama signed it on the Friday before a holiday weekend. That is, to minimize public attention and mute criticism.

Some of the more overheated responses to the CFDAPA paint it as a scheme allowing the federal government to “outlaw” media outlets that don’t toe the government’s line: Just wave a magic wand, declare an impertinent blog to be “foreign disinformation and propaganda,” shut the blog down, and maybe drag the blogger off to Gitmo for a long chat.

No, it’s not quite that, at least in theory, but the prospect shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. And in some ways it’s actually worse.

Even given the regrettable decline in Americans’ vigilance against threats to our rights over the last few decades, straightforward, openly admitted political censorship would provoke widespread and likely effective resistance.

Instead, the CFDAPA sets aside $160 million over two years to, among other things, “support local independent media to refute foreign disinformation and manipulation in their communities.” That is, to bribe local media to publish Washington’s disinformation and propaganda instead of disinformation and propaganda from foreign sources. Not an entirely new project – the Office of National Drug Control Policy has been paying Hollywood to lie to us about marijuana for decades now.

The CFDAPA’s purpose is to set the federal government up as the plenary arbiter of truth and to marginalize any and all narratives that don’t accord with whatever line gets pushed out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s Orwell’s Ministry of Truth in drag.

Overt censorship might not be far behind. Facebook and Twitter are already cooperating with the US government in “countering Islamic State Disinformation and Propaganda.” And remember that only a only a year ago, Donald Trump publicly called for “closing” parts of the Internet used for recruitment by the Islamic State. CFDAPA isn’t just bad on its own merits – it’s also tailor-made for abusive expansion by an unbridled chief executive.

Repeal of this abomination should be 2017’s policy priority number one for freedom-loving Americans.

Thomas L. Knapp is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism. He lives and works in north central Florida. This article is reprinted with permission from William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism.

U.S. Denies Visa For Bosnian Serb Leader To Attend Trump Inaugural

The president of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik says the United States embassy in Bosnia-Herzegovina has rejected his request for a diplomatic visa.

The visa would enable him to travel to the United States for the January inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, to which he has been invited.

Dodik told RTRS, the public broadcaster of the Serb republic, on December 27 that the embassy's rationale for such a move was that he was not going there as a representative of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The Serb leader said that the invitation to attend the inauguration came from people in Trump's campaign.

Dodik recounted in detail a telephone conversation he had last week with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hoyt Yee, who asked him to give up the policy of his pro-Russia separatist party, "and to respond to the Prosecution of Bosnia-Herzegovina."

Dodik described Yee's comments as "a harangue directed by U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Maureen Cormack," who he said was present during the phone conversation.

RTRS said in its report that Yee "blamed Dodik for the deadlock of Bosnia-Herzegovina on its path towards the EU."

Algeria announces tax hikes in 2017 budget

Algeria has adopted a 2017 budget that will see taxes raised to compensate for falling revenues from its key oil sector, officials said on Wednesday.

The budget, signed by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is calculated on an oil price of $50 per barrel.

Oil is the main source of revenue for the North African country.

The budget announced Wednesday outlines raises in value-added tax and duty on alcohol and tobacco, petrol-based products as well as real estate and stamp duties.

The budget forecasts an income of $51 billion and spending of $63 billion.

Despite cuts, it will spend $14 billion on welfare including subsidies on basic products, housing and health care support.

It also allots $10 billion for defence in a country facing instability from armed Islamists who have been active in the country since a devastating civil war in the 1990s.

The budget ruled out recruiting further civil servants or raising the public payroll.

The government has also begun reforming the pension system to save it from "bankruptcy".

In 2011, high oil revenues allowed Algeria to massively increase wages and subsidies, helping it to weather the Arab Spring.

But the 2014 collapse in crude oil prices has forced Algiers to cancel investments and find ways to cut public spending.

Five dead in attack in China's Xinjiang

BEIJING (Reuters) - Attackers drove a car into a government building in China's unruly far western region of Xinjiang on Wednesday and set off an explosive device killing one person, while all four of the attackers were shot dead, the regional government said.

Hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in resource-rich Xinjiang, on the borders of central Asia, in violence between the Muslim Uighur people who call the region home and ethnic majority Han Chinese.

The government has blamed the unrest on Islamist militants, though rights groups and exiles say anger at Chinese controls on the religion and culture of Uighurs is more to blame for the unrest. China denies any repression in Xinjiang.

The Xinjiang government said in a short statement on its main news website the incident occurred just before 5 p.m. (0900 GMT) in Karakax county, deep in southern Xinjiang's Uighur heartland.

It said the four "thugs" drove a vehicle into a yard at the county Communist Party offices and detonated an "explosive device", but were all shot dead.

Three people were wounded and one other died, it said, without giving details.

"At present, local social order is stable," the government said.

In a separate English language report, the official Xinhua news agency described the incident as a "terrorist attack".

State television said the attackers also used knives against staff at the party offices, and that the person they killed was a security guard and three government officials were wounded. It did not say if the guard died in the blast or the knife attack.   It is difficult for foreign journalists to report in Xinjiang, making it almost impossible to reach an independent assessment of security there.

Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the exiled group the World Uyghur Congress, said he doubted the official account."I strongly doubt the casualty toll and reason for the incident from official reports, which lack transparency," he said in an emailed statement.

The government has delayed reporting some previous incidents.

An attack on a coal mine in September last year, in which at least 16 died, was not reported by the government until two months later, when it announced its security forces had killed 28 of the "terrorists" involved.

Xinjiang had generally been quiet this year, with no major reported attacks or other violent incidents.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Alison Williams and Paul Tait)

Pundit makes huge claim about Daniel Sturridge's Liverpool future

That's according to former Red and pundit Dean Saunders.

The England hitman has rarely featured under Jurgen Klopp this season.

The Liverpool boss has opted to play Roberto Firmino up top with Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana behind the Brazilian.Sturridge came on as a substitute against Stoke tonight, netting in Liverpool's 4-1 victory.

But Saunders reckons Sturridge will leave Anfield - despite being the most talented player at the club.

"Sturridge has got more talent than everybody, do it or you're going to get moved on," Saunders told Sky Sports."I think that's going to happen in the end because if he's not playing, he's too good not to be playing, so in the end there'll come to an agreement if that's the case.

"You would have thought by now he'd be sitting there thinking 'Why am I not playing?' You're not playing because you're not working as hard as Firmino."

Non-league: Magpies apply new-found resilience to continue winning run at in-form Winchester City

A DELIGHTED Matty Holmes hailed Wimborne’s “result of the season” after the Magpies won 1-0 at Winchester City to end the hosts’ five-match winning run.

Toby Holmes, one of several Wimborne players struggling with illness, struck the only goal of the game on 21 minutes to seal his team’s third league victory on the spin.

After spurning a series of opportunities to kill the game the visitors came under the pump during the closing stages – and manager Holmes was thrilled with how they stood up to the test.He told the Daily Echo: “I’m delighted. We should have had two or three and put the game out of sight – then there’s always the worry that can backfire on you later on.

“We had quite a few players under the weather, but they all wanted to play. Toby Holmes gave us everything he had until he couldn’t run anymore.

“It’s the result of the season in terms of the squad sticking together, I’m absolutely thrilled with that performance."

The visitors grabbed their lead when, for the umpteenth time, left back Paddy Hester closed down Joe Briggs’s space on half-way.

Luke Holmes stole in to complete the job, wresting possession away from the Winchester winger, before spying Toby Holmes’ forward run and feeding his team-mate.

The striker opened up his body and slotted the ball through the legs of advancing keeper Lewis Noice.

Toby Holmes and Jack Lovell were both off target when presented with chances to double Magpies’ advantage.

But there was no legislating for referee Lewis Sandoe’s decision to ignore Noice’s wiping out of Lovell when the forward chased onto Connor Cocklin’s through ball on the stroke of half-time.

The challenge had echoes of German keeper Harald Schumacher’s 1982 World Cup assault on Frenchman Patrick Battiston.

“Jack got absolutely smashed," said Matty Holmes.

"The keepers sometimes get the benefit of the doubt if they’re coming out for something, but I thought it was a foul.”Lovell and Luke Holmes were both thwarted by Noice shortly after the restart but, while their deficit remained at one, Winchester were always in with a sniff.

Excellent Magpies No 1 Gerard Benfield saved from Jamie Barron, before Danny Smith struck wide from Howard Neighbour’s cut back.

Neighbour then headed straight at Benfield from Briggs’ corner. But the keeper reserved his best for when Winchester substitute Jason Silver streaked through, Benfield repelling the attacker at point-blank range.

From there, Magpies dug deep, and they could even have scored a second themselves, when Jamie Ford’s desperate block prevented Sam Lanahan from capping a lovely move with the finish it deserved.

“In the second-half, to be honest, the game was dour,” added Matty Holmes.

“But it’s nice that a Wimborne team can shut up shop, be organised and deal with threats. We have that resolve now.”

Magpies (4-4-2): Benfield; Penny, Cocklin (Lanahan, h-t), Maybury, Hester; Lovell, Kellaway, Stokoe, L Holmes; Cann, T Holmes (Bayston, 61).

Unused subs: Walker, Griggs, Walker-Harris (g/k).

Explosion in Afghan capital Kabul causes some casualties - police

An explosion went off in a crowded area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, causing some casualties, witnesses said, while a police officer said it appeared to have been a bomb attack aimed at a member of parliament.

The police official, who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, also said there had been some casualties but he gave no details.

Last week, another member of parliament was targeted by a suicide bomber who killed seven people.

(Reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Explosion in Afghan capital Kabul causes some casualties - police

An explosion went off in a crowded area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, causing some casualties, witnesses said, while a police officer said it appeared to have been a bomb attack aimed at a member of parliament.

The police official, who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, also said there had been some casualties but he gave no details.

Last week, another member of parliament was targeted by a suicide bomber who killed seven people.

(Reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Explosion in Afghan capital Kabul causes some casualties - police

An explosion went off in a crowded area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, causing some casualties, witnesses said, while a police officer said it appeared to have been a bomb attack aimed at a member of parliament.

The police official, who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, also said there had been some casualties but he gave no details.

Last week, another member of parliament was targeted by a suicide bomber who killed seven people.

(Reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Explosion in Afghan capital Kabul causes some casualties - police

An explosion went off in a crowded area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, causing some casualties, witnesses said, while a police officer said it appeared to have been a bomb attack aimed at a member of parliament.

The police official, who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, also said there had been some casualties but he gave no details.

Last week, another member of parliament was targeted by a suicide bomber who killed seven people.

(Reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Graham: 99 percent of senators believe Russia interfered in election

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says President-elect Donald Trump is at odds with nearly the entire Senate over whether Russia interfered in the election.

“There are 100 United States senators. ... I would say that 99 percent of us believe that the Russians did this, and we’re going to do something about it,” Graham told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on “The Situation Room” on Tuesday.Graham appeared alongside Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) from Estonia, a Baltic nation he said knows firsthand the danger Russia represents.

“It’s just not in our backyard. [Russia’s] doing it all over the world, not just the United States. They’re interfering in elections in democratic countries’ efforts to self-determination all over the world," Graham said.

"Along with Sen. McCain, after this trip is over, we’re going to have the hearings. We’re going to put sanctions together that hit [Russian President Vladimir] Putin as an individual and his inner circle for interfering in our election.”

Graham, McCain and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) are meeting with officials across a wide array of European nations who have issues with Russia. The trio of senators will journey to Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro and Ukraine after departing Estonia.

The U.S. intelligence community publicly said during the election that Russia was behind the hacks of Democratic groups. And a CIA assessmentreportedly concluded that the Kremlin was interfering specifically to help Trump win.

Both Trump and Moscow have denied Russian involvement in the election.

New York Attorney General: Trump can't dissolve foundation during investigation

The Trump foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete," said Amy Spitalnick, spokeswoman for state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The statement came after Trump announced that he wanted to dissolve the Donald J. Trump Foundation, part of what his presidential transition team says is an effort to erase any potential conflicts of interest before he takes office January 20.

But the foundation's inner workings have been the subject of Schneiderman's investigation for months and could remain a thorny issue for Trump's incoming administration. Democrats nationally have said they are ready to raise any legal or ethical issues from Trump's global business empire during his presidency.

Trump's charity has admitted that it violated IRS regulations barring it from using its money or assets to benefit Trump, his family, his companies or substantial contributors to the foundation.

The admissions by the Donald J. Trump Foundation were in a 2015 tax filing made public after a presidential election in which it was revealed that Trump has used the charity to settle lawsuits, make a $25,000 political contribution and purchase items, such as a painting of himself, that was displayed at one of his properties.

Advertisement

The 2015 tax filing was posted on the nonprofit monitoring website GuideStar on Nov. 18 by someone using an email address from the foundation's law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, said GuideStar spokeswoman Jackie Enterline Fekeci.

In the tax filing, the foundation acknowledged that it used money or assets in violation of the regulations not only during 2015, but in prior years. But the tax filing doesn't provide details on the violations.

Schneiderman, a Democrat, launched his investigation into the charity after reporting by The Washington Post drew attention to some of the foundation's purchases.

Trump asserted on Twitter yesterday that his foundation was run efficiently.

"The DJT Foundation, unlike most foundations, never paid fees, rent, salaries or any expenses," the president-elect tweeted. "100% of the money goes to wonderful charities."

It was the latest of several tweets from Trump, who is spending the holiday week at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

New York Attorney General: Trump can't dissolve foundation during investigation

The Trump foundation is still under investigation by this office and cannot legally dissolve until that investigation is complete," said Amy Spitalnick, spokeswoman for state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The statement came after Trump announced that he wanted to dissolve the Donald J. Trump Foundation, part of what his presidential transition team says is an effort to erase any potential conflicts of interest before he takes office January 20.

But the foundation's inner workings have been the subject of Schneiderman's investigation for months and could remain a thorny issue for Trump's incoming administration. Democrats nationally have said they are ready to raise any legal or ethical issues from Trump's global business empire during his presidency.

Trump's charity has admitted that it violated IRS regulations barring it from using its money or assets to benefit Trump, his family, his companies or substantial contributors to the foundation.

The admissions by the Donald J. Trump Foundation were in a 2015 tax filing made public after a presidential election in which it was revealed that Trump has used the charity to settle lawsuits, make a $25,000 political contribution and purchase items, such as a painting of himself, that was displayed at one of his properties.

Advertisement

The 2015 tax filing was posted on the nonprofit monitoring website GuideStar on Nov. 18 by someone using an email address from the foundation's law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, said GuideStar spokeswoman Jackie Enterline Fekeci.

In the tax filing, the foundation acknowledged that it used money or assets in violation of the regulations not only during 2015, but in prior years. But the tax filing doesn't provide details on the violations.

Schneiderman, a Democrat, launched his investigation into the charity after reporting by The Washington Post drew attention to some of the foundation's purchases.

Trump asserted on Twitter yesterday that his foundation was run efficiently.

"The DJT Foundation, unlike most foundations, never paid fees, rent, salaries or any expenses," the president-elect tweeted. "100% of the money goes to wonderful charities."

It was the latest of several tweets from Trump, who is spending the holiday week at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Donald Trump trashes the United Nations: ‘Just a club for people to get together’

President-elect Donald Trump criticized the United Nations on Monday as an international body that has “potential” to do something good, but just isn’t living up to expectations.

In fact, the incoming president said that right now, the U.N. is just a special “club” for people to get together and talk.

“The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!” Trump tweeted Monday evening.

Trump’s comments come after the U.N. last week passed an anti-Israel resolution — specifically United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 — which bans Israel from building settlements in lands claimed by the Palestinians.

However, Israel has already said they have no plans to abide by the international body’s ruling.

Still, Trump has made it clear that when he assumes the White House next month, America’s relationship with the U.N. and Israel — which has been tumultuous under President Barack Obama — will be different.

“As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th,” Trump tweeted last Friday following the passing of the resolution after Obama’s administration failed to veto it, breaking with standard U.S. foreign policy.

In addition, Netanyahu has said that he is looking forward to working with the Trump administration and his very pro-Israel government. Netanyahu’s government also said Monday that they plan on sharing evidence with Trump that Obama colluded with the U.N. to help “craft” and pass the resolution.

Israel urges Jews to leave France as Benajmin Netanyahu continues to lash out after UN vote

I srael’s defence minister has urged French Jews to leave France and move to the Jewish state as the Israeli government continued to lash out at the international community in the wake of UN resolution criticising its settlements in the occupied West Bank.   

Four days after the US allowed the UN Security Council to censure Israeli settlement building, Israel’s government is on a heated rhetorical campaign against the 14 countries that voted against it. 

It has cut aid programmes, summoned ambassadors for angry admonishing and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has apparently decided to snub Theresa May at next month’s Davos meeting in retaliation for Britain’s vote.  The Israeli government is also focusing on discrediting a French-hosted summit on Israeli-Palestinian peace scheduled to be held in January in the final days before Barack Obama leaves office.   

Mr Netanyahu fears the summit will be used by the outgoing US president as a final chance to leave a mark on the Middle East peace process before Donald Trump takes over. 

Avigdor Lieberman, the defence minister, said the summit was “a modern day version of the Dreyfus trial”, the infamous 19th century trial that exposed widespread anti-semitism in France. 

“This is not a peace conference but rather a tribunal against the State of Israel. This is a conference whose only role is to undermine Israel’s security,” Mr Lieberman said. “On the defendant’s bench, instead of one Jew, will be the entire State of Israel.” 

He urged French Jews to migrate to Israel saying it was “the only answer that should be given to this plot”.Mr Netanyahu irked the French government by making a similar suggestion after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January 2015, implying that France was unable to protect its roughly 450,000 Jews from jihadist attacks. 

Israel’s goal is to discourage any new international action on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict until Mr Trump takes office on January 20. 

The president-elect criticised the White House for not using America’s veto power to stop the UN from censuring Israel and has signaled that he intends to robustly support Mr Netanyahu.   

He kept up his criticism on Twitter on Tuesday, saying: “The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!” 

 Follow

Donald J. Trump 

✔@realDonaldTrump

The United Nations has such great potential but right now it is just a club for people to get together, talk and have a good time. So sad!

1:41 PM - 26 Dec 2016

 
•  16,08116,081 Retweets
 
•  54,04754,047 likes

Israel accused the Obama administration of engineering the UN resolution as a parting shot against Israel and offered to supply the incoming Trump administration with “rather ironclad” evidence of behind the scenes US maneuvering. 

Israel also said in response to the vote that it was “temporarily limiting” its diplomatic contacts with the countries that voted against it at the UN, including Britain. 

It has already recalled ambassadors from Senegal and New Zealand, who sponsored the resolution, and said it would limit diplomatic travel to Israel by foreign leaders. A trip by the prime minister of Ukraine to Israel has already been cancelled in the wake of the vote. 

Mr Netanyahu’s domestic political opponents criticised his handling of the diplomatic crisis even as they voiced their own opposition to the UN resolution. 

Yair Lapid, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, warned of a “dangerous deterioration in Israel’s foreign relations, including with the largest world powers and some of our best friends” and said Mr Netanyahu had engaged in “hysterical behaviour”.