Ayman Odeh, the leader of the Arab Joint List, recommended to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday that Benny Gantz, the leader of the centrist Blue and White Party and the main opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, form the next Israeli government.
Why it matters: This is the first time since 1992 that an Arab party in Israel has recommended one of the candidates for prime minister. The recommendation by the Arab Joint List brings the number of members of the Israeli parliament who support Gantz to 57, compared to 55 for Netanyahu. Since Netanyahu and Gantz virtually tied in last week's election, Odeh's move almost guarantees that Gantz will receive the mandate from Rivlin to form a government.
President Trump will join 192 other world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York City this week for 5 days of speeches and hundreds of meetings — all coming against the backdrop of a string of international crises.
Why it matters: From the China trade war to growing tensions with Iran, the president is facing down multiple global hotspots and a number of unresolved foreign policy deals as he heads to the world’s most prominent diplomatic stage. The self-described "dealmaker" has thus far failed to de-escalate tensions with Iran, North Korea, China, the Taliban, and Israel and Palestine.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani warned Western powers in a speech at a military parade on Sunday to cease patrolling the Persian Gulf and allow regional nations led by Tehran to secure their waterways, according to AP.
"Your presence has always been a calamity for this region and the farther you go from our region and our nations, the more security would come for our region."
Why it matters: President Rouhani's order comes 2 days after the Trump administration announced it will deploy U.S. forces to the Middle East in response to the attacks on oil processing and production sites in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have claimed the attacks were "unquestionably sponsored by Iran," while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has labeled them "an act of war."
Several Iranian students were barred from their flights to the United States, after their visas were abruptly rescinded earlier this month, just days before beginning graduate programs in the U.S. for engineering and computer science, reports the New York Times.
Why it matters: The 12 or so visa cancellations come as tensions continue to mount between Iran and the U.S. However, this occurred before the recent oil facility attacks in Saudi Arabia, which Iran has been held responsible for, per the Times.
The Chinese government is expanding its crackdown on Muslims from beyond the Uighurs to include the Hui minority in Gansu province, reports the Washington Post.
Driving the news: The "tide of 'Sinicization'" is reaching the "Hui, a Chinese-speaking people with no recent record of separatism or extremism," the Post notes.
