israel

During their conversation, Waqa asked Netanyahu that Israel assist his country in medical training, water, waste management and innovation.

"You have been our wonderful friend," Netanyahu said. "It's a pleasure to receive you in the land of Israel and the State of Israel."

"I hope you have an excellent visit that reflects our excellent relations."

On Sunday, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) thanked Waqa for his country's longstanding support for Israel at the United Nations, according to a report on israelnationalnews.com

Such epithets can usually be taken with a grain of salt, except when it comes to the smallest island states in the South Pacific.

When President Reuven Rivlin welcomed Nauru’s 14th President Baron Waqa and his delegation on Sunday, he was absolutely sincere in all the compliments he heaped on Nauru, because Nauru is Israel’s most unconditional and uncritical friend, invariably voting for and with Israel in every public forum in which they are both members – including the United Nations.

Michael Ron David Kadar, 18, who has joint US-Israeli citizenship, allegedly used the internet to make hundreds of hoax calls in the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Prosecutors say he often used software to disguise his voice as a woman's.

He is also accused of trying to extort money from a US senator.

Israeli prosecutors say Mr Kadar made more than 2,000 threatening calls to schools, airports, police stations and hospitals over a two-year period.

A statement after a meeting of the country's security cabinet said the construction would take place in the Emek Shilo area near Nablus.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been simultaneously negotiating with the US government on reducing settlement activity.

Palestinian officials have condemned the move.

Israel's Cabinet decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis, or marijuana, at its weekly meeting on Sunday in a move hailed by politicians from across the spectrum.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they had agreed to the move "in response to housing needs".

Palestinian officials said the plans undermined peace hopes by building on land they want for a future state.

It is the second such announcement by the Israeli authorities since US President Donald Trump took office.

Mr Trump has indicated that he will be more sympathetic to settlement construction than his predecessor, Barack Obama, and has appointed a staunch settlement supporter as his ambassador to Israel.

A statement from the Counter-Terrorism Bureau urged particular caution in the south-west of India.

It said travellers should shun crowded areas like beach parties, clubs, and markets.

India is a popular tourist destination for Israelis.

Young visitors from Israel often travel to areas like Goa to relax after completing their compulsory military service.

In a unusual move, the warning was published on Friday evening in Israel, after the start of the Jewish Sabbath when government offices close for business.

The countries have diplomatic relations with Israel, two senior Israeli officials tell CNN.

The officials said that business with the embassies of those countries -- Britain, France, Russia, China, Japan, Ukraine, Angola, Egypt, Uruguay, Spain, Senegal and New Zealand -- will be suspended, the officials said.

Netanyahu will not meet with the foreign ministers of those countries and their ambassadors will not be received at Israel's foreign ministry, the officials added.

The Dead Sea, a salt lake nestled by Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, is shrinking at an alarming rate -- about 3.3 feet per year, according to the environmentalist group EcoPeace Middle East. And human actions are largely to blame.

"It's not just like one country is punishing the Dead Sea; it's more like the whole region," said photographer Moritz Küstner, who visited the area in February to work on his series "The Dying Dead Sea."

The draft decision notes the importance of Jerusalem to all three monotheistic religions -- Christianity, Judaism and Islam -- but makes no mention of why the city is significant to Christians or Jews. A subsidiary body of UNESCO's Executive Board passed the resolution Thursday in Paris.

It refers to Jerusalem's holiest site -- known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary -- only by its Muslim name.