US Secretary of State Kerry was in Jerusalem to meet with the Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. The current talks have been roiled by the Israeli announcement that it was going to build new settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. The settlement issue has been a major obstacle to peace because they encroach on the territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. The Palestinians believe that that territory is the basis for their future state; some Israelis believe that that territory is an intrinsic part of Israel. The international community has never recognized the settlements as legal under international law, and today Secretary of State Kerry reaffirmed that judgment: “We consider now and have always considered the settlements to be illegitimate.”
There were explosions from home-made bombs in the northern Shanxi Province of China. Some reports indicate that as many as seven explosions occurred, but there were no official confirmations of that fact. No one or group has claimed responsibility for the blasts and it is hard to determine the significance of these attacks. It is difficult, however, not to think that these explosions may have some link to the recent car crash in Tiananmen Square.
Government spending is a major issue in US politics. Here is a graph that shows spending under each President since 1982. Clinton and Obama are the Democratic Presidents; Reagan, and the two Bushes are the Republican Presidents.
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