Donald Trump visited California on Monday where he denounced Democratic leaders over trees that allegedly “explode”, as deadly wildfires continued across the West Coast, claiming countless lives.

Arguing that bad forest management was to blame, the US president claimed trees “just explode”, before denying the existence of the climate crisis and predicting that the planet would become “cooler”.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden dubbed his election opponent a “climate arsonist”, in his own speech addressing record-breaking wildfires and the environment.
Trump to preside over signing of Israeli diplomatic deals with UAE and Bahrain at White House

The US president  is to preside over the signing of historic diplomatic deals between Israel and two Gulf Arab nations that could herald a dramatic shift in Middle East power dynamics and give him a boost ahead of the November election.

In a White House ceremony intended to make him look statesmanlike, Trump will host more than 700 guests on Tuesday on the South Lawn to witness the sealing of the agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

 Trump and his allies hope the occasion will burnish his credentials as a peacemaker at the height of his re-election campaign.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Emirati and Bahraini foreign ministers are to sign the deals in front of the crowd, which will include representatives of supporting nations from the Washington-based diplomatic corps but few other dignitaries from overseas.

In addition to the individual bilateral agreements signed by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain, all three will sign a trilateral document, officials said.

The agreements are dubbed the Abraham Accords after the patriarch of the world’s three major monotheistic religions. Trump is expected to sign as a witness.

The agreements will not end active wars but will formalise the normalisation of the Jewish state’s already-warming relations with the two countries.

And, while not addressing the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they may pave the way for a broader Arab-Israeli rapprochement after decades of enmity, a pair of wars and only two previous peace deals.

Sceptics, including many longtime Middle East observers, analysts, experts and former officials, have expressed doubts about the impact of the deals and lamented that they ignore the Palestinians, who have rejected them as a stab in the back by fellow Arabs.

Yet even the harshest critics have allowed that they could usher in a seismic shift in the region should other Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, follow suit, with implications for Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

Other Arab countries believed to be close to recognising Israel include Oman, Sudan and Morocco.

“These agreements are a huge accomplishment for the countries involved and have led to a tremendous sense of hope and optimism in the region,” said Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who led the negotiations.

“Instead of focusing on past conflicts, people are now focused on creating a vibrant future filled with endless possibilities.”

Tuesday’s ceremony follows months of intricate diplomacy headed by Kushner and Trump’s envoy for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz, that first bore fruit on August 13 when the Israel-UAE deal was announced.

That was followed by the first direct commercial flight between the countries, and then the September 11 announcement of the Bahrain-Israel agreement.

The specific contents of the individual documents to be signed on Tuesday, however, were not known ahead of the ceremony.
Trump threatens retaliatory ‘attack on Iran that will be 1,000 times greater in magnitude!’

On Twitter last night, the president renewed his sabre-rattling against Tehran over reports it is plotting a revenge assassination for the US killing of its top general Qassem Soleimani on 3 January, which brought the two states to the brink of war.

Trump to preside over signing of Israeli diplomatic deals with UAE and Bahrain at White House

The US president  is to preside over the signing of historic diplomatic deals between Israel and two Gulf Arab nations that could herald a dramatic shift in Middle East power dynamics and give him a boost ahead of the November election.

In a White House ceremony intended to make him look statesmanlike, Trump will host more than 700 guests on Tuesday on the South Lawn to witness the sealing of the agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

 Trump and his allies hope the occasion will burnish his credentials as a peacemaker at the height of his re-election campaign.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Emirati and Bahraini foreign ministers are to sign the deals in front of the crowd, which will include representatives of supporting nations from the Washington-based diplomatic corps but few other dignitaries from overseas.

In addition to the individual bilateral agreements signed by Israel, the UAE and Bahrain, all three will sign a trilateral document, officials said.

The agreements are dubbed the Abraham Accords after the patriarch of the world’s three major monotheistic religions. Trump is expected to sign as a witness.

The agreements will not end active wars but will formalise the normalisation of the Jewish state’s already-warming relations with the two countries.

And, while not addressing the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they may pave the way for a broader Arab-Israeli rapprochement after decades of enmity, a pair of wars and only two previous peace deals.

Sceptics, including many longtime Middle East observers, analysts, experts and former officials, have expressed doubts about the impact of the deals and lamented that they ignore the Palestinians, who have rejected them as a stab in the back by fellow Arabs.

Yet even the harshest critics have allowed that they could usher in a seismic shift in the region should other Arab nations, particularly Saudi Arabia, follow suit, with implications for Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

Other Arab countries believed to be close to recognising Israel include Oman, Sudan and Morocco.

“These agreements are a huge accomplishment for the countries involved and have led to a tremendous sense of hope and optimism in the region,” said Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who led the negotiations.

“Instead of focusing on past conflicts, people are now focused on creating a vibrant future filled with endless possibilities.”

Tuesday’s ceremony follows months of intricate diplomacy headed by Kushner and Trump’s envoy for international negotiations, Avi Berkowitz, that first bore fruit on August 13 when the Israel-UAE deal was announced.

That was followed by the first direct commercial flight between the countries, and then the September 11 announcement of the Bahrain-Israel agreement.

The specific contents of the individual documents to be signed on Tuesday, however, were not known ahead of the ceremony.