I. EXCLUSIVE: Secret U.S.-Israel nuclear accord in jeopardy
The issue will likely come to a head when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Mr. Obama on May 18 in Washington. Mr. Netanyahu is expected to seek assurances from Mr. Obama that he will uphold the U.S. commitment and will not trade Israeli nuclear concessions for Iranian ones.
II. Andy McCarthy on Declining a DOJ Invitation (VIDEO)
NR’s Andy McCarthy explains why he declined to meet with President Obama’s Detention Policy Task Force.
III. Russia expels Canadian diplomats
Russia has expelled two Canadian diplomats working for Nato's Moscow office in response to an "unfriendly act" by the military alliance. The Canadian embassy in Moscow said it regretted Russia's decision which came, a spokesman said, just as "Canada and Nato allies have been seeking to re-engage Russia".
IV. European Union to Reach Out to 6 Former Soviet States in Meeting
A summit meeting intended to embrace the six former Soviet republics — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova — under a plan called the Eastern Partnership is scheduled for Thursday in Prague. The original goal was to present the 27-nation European Union bloc as an alternative to Russia as a regional power center by offering the six nations greater engagement on economic and political issues. Watching from the sidelines is a wary Russian government that has grown steadily more skeptical about the bloc’s intentions. The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said he was concerned that the bloc might be about to meddle in a region that Moscow considers its backyard.
V. Preservation of Cultural Monuments Integral to Process of Improving Relations Between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, Says Technical Committee
We have agreed to establish and bring to life a mechanism, namely “Advisory Board for the Preservation, Physical Protection and Restoration of the Immovable Cultural Heritage of Cyprus” for the protection of cultural heritage on Cyprus. The Committee also agreed to compile the entire list of immovable cultural heritage of Cyprus, to create an educational interactive programme that would give the opportunity to younger generation of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to learn about each other and the cultural heritage of the island, and to undertake two restoration pilot projects. These projects involve the restoration of the Arnavut Mosque and the Archangel Michael Church. The preparatory work on all above-mentioned projects are in the final stages.
VI. Erdan: Knesset not the place to mark Armenian genocide
'We have a moral obligation to remember the killings, but this is not the place' speaking on government's behalf, minister answers MK Oron's motion to formally mark Turkish persecution of Armenian people during WWI.
VII. After 1,000 years, women can see treasures of Mount Athos
For the first time in almost 1,000 years, many of the legendary Byzantine treasures of Mount Athos in Greece are on view to women. Almost 200 works of art from the male-only Orthodox enclave in northern Greece are on show at the Petit Palais in Paris until July. Paris has been granted the privilege of hosting this "world premiere", largely as a result of France's presidency of the EU last year.