In brief: Netanyahu tables bill on Jewish nationality

JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday staved off a potential splintering of his governing coalition, at least for now, with an agreement to delay bringing a contentious nationality bill before the Knesset, or parliament.

But the government, beset by constant quarrels, remains on shaky ground, and the Israeli leader is seen as likely to continue backing an array of hard-line measures in response to some of the worst violence to hit Israel in years, a string of attacks by Palestinian assailants that have left 11 people dead in little more than a month.

A vote on the nationality measure, which had been approved Sunday by the Cabinet, could have led to a parliamentary showdown and triggered early elections. Lawmakers were originally scheduled to take up the measure Wednesday.

The bill designates Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Although Israel’s Jewish character is legally anchored in many key documents, the bill came under fire for provisions that included eliminating Arabic as an official language and opening the door for Jewish religious law to take precedence over democratic practices.

Critics also said the measure could be used to discriminate against Arab citizens, who make up one-fifth of the population.

Sanctions, oil price slump costing Russia $100 billion

MOSCOW – International sanctions and slumping oil prices are costing Russia well over $100 billion a year, a top official acknowledged Monday.

“We are losing about $40 billion a year because of geopolitical sanctions and about $90 (billion) to $100 billion due to a 30 percent drop in oil prices,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at an international economic conference in Moscow, Interfax reported.

Siluanov said capital flight from Russia is expected to reach $130 billion this year.

The ruble, the national currency, has experienced its biggest drop in years over the last two months, losing 30 percent of its value. That has added significantly to a volatile inflation rate officially projected to be close to 10 percent by the end of the year, officials say. Some private economists say the inflation figure could be twice that high.