https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/bidens-trip-to-saudi-arabia-to-be-announced-monday

Biden's trip to Saudi Arabia to be announced Monday

After the postponed visit of US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia and “Israel”, the White House plans to announce the dates of the trip as early as Monday, June 13. According to two officials with immediate knowledge of the plans Congress had previously pushed back against the trip given their critical stance against the Kingdom and its leader for repeated human-rights abuses.

Previously, a senior administration official told NBC News “We are working on a trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia for a GCC+3 Summit.” As such, the trip comes as part of a broader trip to the region.

President Biden is likely to meet with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite having continuously criticized the Kingdom for its human-rights record, especially following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence pins on MBS.

Previously, Biden had called the Kingdom a “pariah” during his election campaigns.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/china-warns-us-on-taiwan:-we-will-fight-to-the-very-end

China warns US on Taiwan: "We will fight to the very end"

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) security conference in Singapore, China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe warned that China's armed forces are prepared to fight to the very end if anyone dares to split Taiwan out of China.

"Taiwan is part of China, the Taiwan question belongs to China’s internal affairs, and national reunification will definitely become a reality," Wei said.

He further warned that those who pursue "Taiwan independence" as part of an attempt to split China will definitely come to a "dead end", adding that the US fought a civil war for its unity, and although China doesn't want such a war, it will crush attempts of pursuing "Taiwan independence".

“Let me make this clear: if anyone dares to split Taiwan out of China, we will not hesitate to fight. We will fight at all costs. We will fight to the very end. This is the only choice for China,” Wei warned.

The Chinese Defense Minister further declared that treating China as a threat, adversary or enemy would be a historic mistake as it is not a threat to any other country, adding that the US' Indo-Pacific strategy exploits the idea of creating a "free and open Indo-Pacific region" to control regional states and produce conflict in order to contain China.

Ukraine conflict

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Wei said that China considers sanctions to be an ineffective tool, and that such an approach against Russia will not aid in resolving the conflict.

He further emphasized that China has never provided the Russian military with any material support, and that his country's partnership with Russia is not directed against any country.

Conflict or war is the last thing Beijing wants, Wei said, and sanctions pressure is no war to resolve conflict, rather it can further inflame tensions and complicate the situation.

In order to ensure a speedy cessation of hostilities, the defense minister said that China supports dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, and also talks between the US, NATO and Russia.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/biden-blames-zelensky-for-deterioration-of-ukrainian-crisis

Biden blames Zelensky for deterioration of Ukrainian crisis

At a Democratic fundraiser event in Los Angeles, on Friday, the Associated Press reported a statement by US President Joe Biden claiming the US knew and had valuable data to sustain its knowledge that Russia was “was going to go in, off the border,” but Ukranian President Volodomyr Zelensky "didn’t want to hear it.”

Biden has been deeply involved in the Ukrainian crisis and publicly, alongside the collective-West, rejected the Russian operation in Ukraine. Most recently, Congress had finalized a $40 billion in new military and humanitarian assistance despite the economic crisis the US is presently faced with.

During the fundraiser, the US President focused on the American commitment to supporting Ukraine, claiming that “nothing like this has happened since World War II.”

Five months into the operation, following the US’ investment of billions of dollars in taxpayer money and the imposition of sanctions that have drastically impacted the world, Biden tells people that the US was aware of Russia’s intent and that he had notified Ukraine, but "Zelensky did not want to hear it."

In response, Ukrainian officials rejected Biden’s account. A spokesperson for Zelensky, Serhiy Nykyforov, told Ukrainian news website LIGA.net that the two presidents held several phone call conferences to discuss the situation in the period prior to Russia’s operation. Additionally, Nykyforov said that Ukraine requested preventive sanctions to de-escalate the situation long before the crisis happened and therefore, “the phrase ‘did not want to hear’ probably needs clarification.”

Zelensky’s advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, reverberated Nykyforov when he spoke to LIGA.net that it was not a question about whether or not Russia was planning an "invasion", but rather what was the scale of that "invasion".

Podolyak firmly stated that “it is absurd to accuse a country of resisting the aggressor for more than 100 days, which prevails if key countries have failed to stop Russia as a precaution.”

These comments come at a time when Ukraine is on the brink of losing the eastern region of Lugansk to Russia. Kiev is requesting immediate military support knowing it is outgunned militarily by the Russians, and street fights are becoming more intense marking large-scale strategic losses as the city of Severodonetsk became mostly “controlled by Russians,” said the Luhansk governor on Saturday.

The Kremlin has found that Biden’s announcements regarding the military aids, sanction packages, and political involvement in Ukraine come as proof of its intentions against Russia. Therefore, the Kremlin “believe that the United States is deliberately and diligently ‘pouring fuel on the fire.’”

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/economics/israeli-government-on-the-verge-of-collapse-bennett-lapid-st

Israeli government on the verge of collapse; Bennett, Lapid struggle

After the end of Netanyahu's reign, Bennett's government was sworn in and is seen to be on the verge of collapse, raising the possibility of a snap election in the coming few months.

The current Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, along with his Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, promised to fight for the survival of the current Israeli government, which is doomed to its demise.

"We're marking a year since the establishment of the national salvation government. Any honest person would admit that this is one of the country's best governments, which leans on one of the most difficult coalitions the Knesset has ever known," Bennett said in broadcast remarks at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting.

However, the current government is dealing with issues over which they are deeply divided, including Bennett's loss of legitimacy, when his 4th staff member resigned in a month.

Silman's 'preparation to bring down the government'

Furthermore, Bennett's Yamina party has also recently lost majority after its latest member, a religious conservative, Idit Silman, resigned. Bennett's coalition now has 60 MPs, the same as the opposition.

"I am ending my membership of the coalition and will try to continue to talk my friends into returning home and forming a right-wing government," Silman said. "I know I'm not the only one who feels this way."

Bennett's coalition may continue ruling with 60 seats, although with difficulty passing new legislation.

However, if another coalition member defected, the Knesset could issue a vote of no confidence, sending "Israel" back to the polls for a fifth parliamentary election in four years.

Political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin told AFP that if Silman "is the first person to prepare to bring down the government, she is doing it from the place of conviction." "She is religious, and I think we all underestimate the power of theology," Scheindlin said.

Bennett: "Israel" stands before true test, gov't close to collapse

The Israeli occupation's Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, said earlier this month that "Israel" stands before a true test and that his government is close to collapse, standing at a historical crossroads, accusing Benjamin Netanyahu and the opposition he leads of spreading poison and chaos.

Bennett, in a missive he published on social media, said the ancient "Israel" had been destroyed twice before because of internal conflict: the first, 80 years after its "establishment", and the second, 77 years later, adding that "Israel" is now in its third era, drawing closer to its eighth decade. He went on to say that everyone stands before a true test of whether or not they will be able to preserve "Israel".

He noted that one year ago, "Israel came to one of the most difficult moments it has ever known," amid chaos, endless election spins, government paralysis, and the cities of "Lod [Al-Ledd] and Acre [Akka] burning in the face of a humiliated and conflicted government," referring to the Palestinian protests that took place amid the battle of Seif Al-Quds last year.

The Israeli PM further noted that "Israel" was in a state of weakness amid the battle of Seif Al-Quds and was trapped in “the worship of one man and the enslavement of the state’s energy to his legal needs,” referring to then-Israeli PM Netanyahu.

Bennett further added that the Israeli occupation stood days away from a "fifth election cycle that would have taken the country apart," and took the most difficult decision "in my life" to form a government that would "save Israel from the chaos and has it function again."