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[spacer] PHOTOS | Best news images of the week [spacer] At least 13 dead in northeastern U.S. storm [spacer] 12 months to a fitter you Explore real-time news, visually Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman acquitted of corruption charges By William Booth, E-mail the writer JERUSALEM — A former Israeli foreign minister, the political brawler and power broker Avigdor Lieberman, was found not guilty Wednesday in a complicated corruption probe, clearing the way for his quick return to the international stage. Lieberman was charged with fraud and breach of trust. Specifically, he was accused of improperly promoting a former diplomat as Israel’s ambassador to Latvia. Prosecutors alleged that the former diplomat had fed Lieberman insider information about a separate money-laundering investigation — since dropped — of his business dealings. TOPSHOTSSome of the 243 immigrants deported from the United States arrive at the Air Force base in Guatemala City on January 2, 2014. The US deported 50,221 Guatemalans between January and December 2013, a historical record that exceeds by 23 percent the number of expulsions registered during the same period in 2012, according to records of the General Directorate of Migration of Guatemala. AFP PHOTO / Johan ORDONEZJOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images Photos of the day U.S. snowstorms, a dog deli, Burmese prisoner release, Antarctic rescue and more. • Thursday's Photos of the day Latest stories from Foreign Al-Qaeda force captures Fallujah Al-Qaeda force captures Fallujah Liz Sly “At the moment, there is no presence of the Iraqi state in Fallujah,” said a local journalist. More U.S. Embassy staff to leave South Sudan More U.S. Embassy staff to leave South Sudan Sudarsan Raghavan The drawdown underscores U.S. concerns about the deteriorating security situation. GOP hawks skeptical about Kerry’s push for Mideast deal GOP hawks skeptical about Kerry’s push for Mideast deal Anne Gearan and William Booth McCain, Graham share some of the Israeli leader's doubts about terms for a Palestinian peace agreement. Lieberman, 55, is leader of the Yisrael Beitenu (Israel Our Home) party, which serves the interests of Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Originally from the former Soviet republic of Moldova, he is a larger-than-life wheeler-dealer in Israel’s domestic politics and an often undiplomatic diplomat. Just a few days ago, Lieberman accused South Africa’s government of anti-Semitism and urged Jews there to leave the country and come to Israel “before it is too late.” Last year, he accused Europe of failing to condemn a leader of Hamas, the militant Islamic organization that controls the Gaza Strip. Lieberman likened the atmosphere in Europe to the period when the Nazis sent Jews and others to concentration camps during the Holocaust. In another memorable exchange in 2010, he warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to tangle with Israel, telling him: “You and your family will lose the regime. Neither you nor the Assad family will remain in power.” Lieberman is an ally — and an occasional sparring partner — of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lieberman’s party merged with Netanyahu’s to form the ruling government coalition. With his legal troubles apparently over, Lieberman is free to return to his cabinet post, which he vacated this year to face charges, while Netanyahu assumed the duties of foreign minister. During the investigation and trial, Lieberman continued to serve in the Israeli parliament, where he chairs the powerful foreign affairs and defense committee. Netanyahu spoke with Lieberman on Wednesday, telling him, “I congratulate you on your unanimous acquittal and am pleased that you are returning to the government,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office. Shelly Yachimovich, head of the Labor Party and leader of the opposition, called Lieberman “a foreign minister who has damaged Israel” and urged Netanyahu not to allow him to return to the post. Lieberman’s likely imminent return as foreign minister comes at a busy time, as Israel faces a long list of international challenges, including mending frosty relations with Turkey and pushing the Obama administration and its international partners to keep economic sanctions against Iran in place until that country decommissions its uranium centrifuges and opens its nuclear program up for inspections. He would probably play a less central role in the ongoing peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. That job went to the justice minister, Tzipi Livni, and Yitzhak Molcho, a top Netanyahu adviser who is widely thought to be there in part to keep an eye on Livni. “In reality, the Foreign Ministry does not run foreign policy because it is the prime minister who makes most of the decisions,” said Jonathan Rynhold, a political scientist at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv. “I don’t think we will see a drastic change, because there is not a huge difference in substance between Netanyahu and Lieberman. Both accept partition [the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state], and both believe that it is probably not achievable.” Rynhold added, “I think Lieberman will deal with other issues. His style will obviously be different to Netanyahu’s because he is more robust and plays to populist elements at home. Although he is tough, foreign diplomats do say that he is a man that you can do business with.” Lieberman’s handpicked candidate in the Jerusalem mayoral race lost last month. A guilty verdict on Wednesday would probably have ended his political career. After his acquittal, Lieberman headed from the courtroom to the Western Wall, where he donned a skullcap and shawl, had a quick picture taken and said a prayer of thanks. Ruth Eglash contributed to this report. • Reprints Loading... Comments Discussion Policy Add your comment Read what others are saying SuperFan Badge SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams. More about badges | Request a badge Culture Connoisseur Badge Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment. More about badges | Request a badge Fact Checker Badge Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to The Fact Checker. 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Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers. • Spam • Offensive • Disagree • Off-Topic • □ Facebook □ Twitter □ Reddit □ StumbleUpon □ Digg □ Delicious • Top world Stories • Most Popular Videos • • • • • [spacer] Egypt’s latest terror suspect: The popular felt-and-yarn puppet Abla Fahita Erin Cunningham [spacer] McCain, in Israel, voices skepticism about Kerry’s Middle East peace push Anne Gearan 9 questions about South Sudan 5 insights on the race and ethnicity maps ‘Front-Page Rule’ is unprecedented in U.S. intelligence community Walter Pincus Report: North Korea ordered its foreign diplomats to become drug dealers Four Al Jazeera journalists detained in Egypt, accused of illegal ties to Muslim Brotherhood Erin Cunningham Panel urges new curbs on surveillance by U.S. Ellen Nakashima A surprising map of countries that have the most traffic deaths Erdogan vows graft scandal in Turkey won’t topple him Seda Sezer Fight over military pension cuts to continue Associated Press Reza Aslan: 'Megyn Kelly is right' about Jesus U.S. aid to Syrian refugees generally stops at the border Anne Gearan New enmity between Japan and Korea plays out in Tokyo’s Koreatown Chico Harlan Snowden ‘an indoor cat’ in Moscow, says he’s ‘won’ Associated Press Chart: The countries that own the most U.S. debt In Japan, fax machines remain important because of language and culture Chico Harlan Kellie Pickler serenades the troops in Afghanistan Kevin Sieff Kim Jong Il's grandson calls his uncle Kim Jong Eun a 'dictator' In South Africa, thousands gather to mourn Mandela at funeral in his childhood village Sudarsan Raghavan The Post Most: World • 1 Egypt's latest terror suspect: The popular felt-and-yarn puppet Abla Fahita • 2 McCain, in Israel, voices skepticism about Kerry's Middle East peace push • 3 [107941921] 9 questions about South Sudan • 4 [racism-map3] 5 insights on the race and ethnicity maps • 5 'Front-Page Rule' is unprecedented in U.S. intelligence community [btn-subscr] Our Correspondents on Twitter Post Correspondents [c3e8558a37] Al Qaeda raise their flag over Fallujah where US Marines fought the biggest battle of the Iraq war washingtonpost.com/world/al-qaeda… @LizSly • • • [307cc15667] Always easier to engage with a bad argument against your viewpoint than a good one. @Max_Fisher • • • [307cc15667] The Gordon Chang story is getting lots of (deserved) derision. Wish we were talking about @fmkaplan’s piece instead slate.me/1g6FBQs @Max_Fisher • • • [307cc15667] Haha, NPR post tut-tutting the media for picking up the Kim/dogs story mistakenly ID’s @nknewsorg as a Japanese site n.pr/19TmRmT @Max_Fisher • • • [307cc15667] It’s almost as if foreign countries were real places that merited knowing something about before saying stuff about @Max_Fisher • • • [307cc15667] “UPDATE: It’s worth pointing out that we ran a nonsense story as fact, sorry” bit.ly/1dgLhUQ @Max_Fisher • • • [307cc15667] The three types of NSA snooping that Edward Snowden revealed wapo.st/1lFcgOn @Max_Fisher • • • [307cc15667] Credit where due: @mradamtaylor beat me to debunking the “Kim Jong Un fed his uncle to dogs” story by like an hour read.bi/KnibN0 @Max_Fisher • • • [307cc15667] No, Kim Jong Un probably didn't feed his uncle to 120 hungry dogs. Here are five big reasons why: wapo.st/1lEZ8ZG @Max_Fisher • • • [fb14d0da28] A month ago, #Lieberman said no peace deal till #Palestinians tripled their GDP per capita. 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