Netanyahu to be sworn in as Israel’s new premier

JERUSALEM – Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become Israel’s new premier on Tuesday, heading a predominantly right-wing cabinet that has sparked international concern over the future of troubled peace talks.

Returning to power 10 years after his first stint as prime minister, the 59-year-old Bibi, as he is popularly known, will present his government to parliament in the afternoon, with MPs expected to vote the cabinet in later.

Israel’s 32nd government promises to be one of its largest ever. Netanyahu rewarded his coalition partners so handsomely with portfolios that a new table has had to be ordered to accommodate the 30 or so ministers.

The 69-member coalition in the 120-seat Knesset will lean heavily to the right despite the presence of centre-left Labour, and will include his Likud party, ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu, ultra-Orthodox Shas, and a small settler party.

Netanyahu has chosen as foreign minister the firebrand Avigdor Lieberman, a former bouncer and immigrant from the former Soviet republic of Moldova who has been branded a “racist” by critics for his anti-Arab diatribes.

With Netanyahu, who opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, at the helm and Lieberman as Israel’s top diplomat, the international community has expressed alarm over the future of the already uncertain peace process, relaunched in November 2007 but making little progress since.

The European Union last week warned Israel of “consequences” if the new government does not commit itself to the principle of the two-state solution to the decades-old Middle East conflict, saying relations would become “very difficult.”

US President Barack Obama meanwhile said that peace efforts under a Netanyahu cabinet were not getting any easier but were just as necessary.

One of the main issues is Netanyahu’s opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state, a principle to which Israel committed itself under the 2003 international so-called roadmap for peace.

Netanyahu, who put the brakes on the Oslo peace process during his first term as premier in 1996-1999, says economic conditions should be improved in the occupied West Bank before negotiations take place on other issues.

But keen not to antagonise key ally Washington where Obama has vowed to vigorously pursue the hobbled peace talks, the new Israeli leader has said he will continue the negotiations.

“Peace… is a common and enduring goal for all Israelis and Israeli governments, mine included. This means I will negotiate with the Palestinian Authority for peace,” Netanyahu told a Jerusalem conference last Wednesday.

“I think that the Palestinians should understand that they have in our government a partner for peace, for security, for the rapid development of the Palestinian economy.”

Despite his hardline rhetoric, Netanyahu signed several deals with the Palestinians under US pressure during his first term as premier, and some analysts in Israel say he would do so again if pressed by Washington.

Aware of discontent in the international community over a Netanyahu government, President Shimon Peres — Israel’s veteran statesman and a Nobel peace laureate — has sought to assuage concerns.

“The new government is bound by the decisions of the preceding one,” Peres said on Sunday. “There will be a continuity and the continuation of peace negotiations.”

“The government that will be formed will respect the engagements undertaken by the preceding cabinet,” said Peres, who plans to launch an international media campaign after Tuesday’s swearing-in. – AFP

Obama administration abandons ‘war on terror’: Clinton

THE HAGUE – The new US administration of Barack Obama has discreetly abandoned the expression “war on terror” adopted by former president George W. Bush, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday.

Replying to a question on the plane bringing her to The Hague, Clinton declared: “As you said, the administration has stopped using the phrase, and I think that speaks for itself, obviously.”

The secretary of state, who was to take part in an international conference on Afghanistan in the Dutch administrative capital, said of the phrase: “I haven’t heard it used. I haven’t gotten any directive about using it or not using it. It’s just not being used.”

The Bush administration that preceded Obama in the White House used the “war on terror” to justify its intervention in Iraq, as well as its imprisonment of detainees at Guantanamo in Cuba and secret CIA prisons abroad.

Since he came to power in late January, Obama has committed himself to breaking with these practices, with a pledge to withdraw progressively from Iraq and to close Guantanamo within one year. – AFP

Palestinians to open new probe of Arafat’s death

RAMALLAH, West Bank – A foundation devoted to the memory of veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said on Monday it will open a new investigation into his mysterious death in 2004.

“The committee will include Arab doctors responsible for Arafat’s health before he was moved to Paris and a number of political officials,” Nasser al-Qidwa, Arafat’s nephew who heads the foundation, told reporters.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner who led the struggle for Palestinian statehood for nearly four decades died in a French military hospital on November 11 after being airlifted there from his headquarters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

At the time of Arafat’s death at the age of 75, Palestinian officials alleged he had been poisoned by long-time foe Israel, but an inconclusive Palestinian investigation in 2005 ruled out cancer, AIDS and poisoning.

That report repeated previous assessments that Arafat’s death on November 11, 2004 “resulted from a severe haemorrhaging of the brain”.

But it added that Arafat’s “clinical state presented several symptoms which could not be explained in the framework of nosology,” or study of diseases.

A book released by two Israeli journalists in 2005 identified three possible causes of Arafat’s death: infection from a germ that poisoned the blood, AIDS or poisoning.

The new investigation is part of a larger effort to preserve Arafat’s memory. The foundation has launched a website at http://www.yasserarafat.ps with photos, articles, and a “panorama” tour of Arafat’s modest home and office.

Palestinians credit their late leader with catapulting their cause onto the world stage and leading them through decades of war and political strife.

Israel, which besieged Arafat’s headquarters for the last three years of his life, branded him a terrorist for most of his life and blamed him for the intifada which erupted in 2000, shattering the Oslo autonomy accords. – AFP

Defiant Tigers frustrate Sri Lanka’s military

COLOMBO – Two months after President Mahinda Rajapakse vowed that the Tamil Tiger rebels would be defeated within days, fighting rages on in Sri Lanka at the cost of escalating military, rebel and civilian lives.

Government forces who were advancing into Liberation Tigers’ of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) territory at the rate of more than a kilometre (0.6 miles) a day have slowed to a snail’s pace.

With the rebels now cornered in a tiny but densely populated strip of coastal jungle measuring just 21 square kilometres (eight square miles), the military has been struggling to deliver the final blow.

The army says the Tigers have fewer than 500 fighters left, but those that remain appear to be offering stiff resistance.

“It is a matter of life and death for the Tigers and that is why they are ferociously fighting back,” said former Tiger militant-turned-politician Dharmalingam Sithadthan.

“They are also using a human shield very effectively.”

United Nations and other foreign aid organisations say as many as 150,000 civilians may be trapped in the combat zone, although the Sri Lankan government insists the figure is less than half that.

Military officials say the proximity of the two sides’ frontlines made it impossible to use heavy artillery, multi-barrel rockets and jet aircraft to soften up Tiger targets ahead of advancing ground forces.

“Progress is going to be slow because we are very, very close and can’t fire long-range weapons,” said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkar.

“Also, we can’t move as rapidly as we would like because of the civilians,” Nanayakkar said. “We can’t just go in.”

A senior military officer who declined to be named said there were fears the Tigers might stage a mass suicide involving civilians as well as their own fighters.

“The military expected the civilians to put pressure on the Tigers and break free and allow the army to go in and finish the job,” the officer said. “But the Tigers have used enough terror to prevent civilians from escaping.”

At the height of their power in the mid-1990s, the Tigers controlled more than two-thirds of the island’s coastline and a third of the total land mass as they pushed for an independent Tamil homeland.

Their collapse began two years ago and accelerated after the government pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered truce in January 2008.

The UN has criticised the Tigers for not allowing non-combatants to flee the conflict area, while also urging the government to halt its shelling operations.

The UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, has said that over 2,800 civilians have been killed in shelling since January 20 — a charge denied by the Sri Lankan authorities.

President Rajapakse made his prediction of imminent victory in an address to mark Sri Lanka’s national day on February 4.

“I am confident that the Tigers will be completely defeated in a few days,” the president said then.

The Tigers responded two weeks later by flying explosives-laden light aircraft over the capital Colombo and bombing the main income tax office. The attack was a minor one but still symbolic of the rebels’ resilience.

Last week, the government’s defence spokesman, Keheliya Rambukwella, revived the claim that the fighting was in its final phase.

“It is apparent that the LTTE are now on the imminent brink of defeat,” said Rambukwella.

But the Tigers have fought on.

In the latest clash, the military said Monday that 26 Tigers had been killed in a sea battle off the northeastern coast where the rebels are making their final stand.

Verification of battlefield casualty claims is almost impossible as the authorities do not allow independent journalists or observers to travel to the area. – AFP

Maldivian in Sri Lanka given life sentence for drug possession

A Maldivian man was sentenced to life in prison by a Sri Lankan court last Thursday after being found guilty of drug possession charges.

The Maldivian Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Ali Hussain Didi, also confirmed the news on Monday and added that the man had been charged with drug possession sometime during the middle of last year. Didi however refused to reveal any more information about the man.

“It was the Negombo Police that arrested him,” Didi said. “He was sentenced to life in prison on the 26th of this month. He is now in a Sri Lankan jail. He had been studying in Sri Lanka.”

Haveeru sources have confirmed that the man who was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Sri Lankan court was Ibrahim Adam Manik, the son of Malé Municipality’s president Sarangu Adam Manik. The 22-year-old was arrested last year while he was at a Sri Lankan airport to leave for Maldives.

MNBC: Rf7 million remain unpaid to State media

Various companies still owed Voice of Maldives and Television Maldives a total of Rf7.62 million in unpaid bills, the Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC) has said.

Speaking on the anniversary edition of the “Raajje Miadhu” program on TVM, the Managing Director of MNBC Ibrahim Khaleel said that the invoices had been made during the last 14 years. Khaleel said that the Rf6.6 million owed to TVM and Rf1.02 owed to Voice of Maldives in unpaid bills were the ‘scariest things’ he’s faced since he took charge of the MNBC.

“The money is something that is owed to the government, the country,” he said. “Going through the documents I’ve noticed that not enough effort had been put into recovering the money. Those who use our service should pay for the service.”

He further said that during the time when pay-channel TVM Plus had been in operations, 436 customers who had purchased the digital decoders still owed Rf880,000 in unpaid subscription fees.

More than 100 islands facing water shortages

While more than a hundred islands in Maldives were experiencing drinking water shortages, the biggest problem was the difficulty in buying and transporting drinking water to them, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) has said.

“It’s very difficult to get water from the industrial places that produce water,” State Minister for Housing, Transport and Housing Abdulla Shahid has said. “We are also facing difficulties in transporting water to the islands. We just aren’t able to get enough water.”

Shahid said that despite the obstacles they were facing, they had managed to distribute Rf1.5 million worth of water to various islands since 14 February.

He said that due to the hot weather and lack of rain for a long period, more than a hundred islands had run out of drinkable water and had requested the DMC for water. He said that the DMC had so far distributed water shipments to 56 islands so far.

He also said that at the moment they were trying to provide water to nine more islands and 35 islands still remained in queue.

Majlis approves Non Resident Ambassadors

People’s Majlis on Monday has given approval for the two names proposed by President Nasheed to be appointed as Non Resident Ambassadors to six countries.

President Nasheed has proposed to appoint Maldives Ambassador accredited to India Abdul Azeez Yousuf of M. Dhoonihuraa as Non Resident Ambassador to Bhutan, Nepal and Afghanistan. President also proposed to appoint Maldives Ambassador accredited to Malaysia Mohamed Zaki (Nazaki Zaki) as No Resident Ambassador to Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand.

Majlis endorsed Ambassador Azeez with 27 members voting in favor for appointment as Non Resident Ambassador for Bhutan, Nepal and Afghanistan while Ambassador Zaki was endorsed with 24 members voting in favor for appointment as Non Resident Ambassador for Indonesia, Brunei and Thailand.

The names proposed by the President as Non Resident Ambassadors were scrutinized by a Majlia adhoc committee and the committee’s report was presented to the Majlis. In presenting the report, the committee’s chairperson Hdh member Ahmed Abdulla said the committee has concluded that the manes proposed by the president for Non Resident Ambassadors were suitable and eligible.

New Villingili Police Station opened

The new office building of Kaafu atoll Villingili Police Station was officially opened on Monday, Maldives Police Services has revealed.

Guest of honor at the ceremony held for the occasion was Acting Home Minister and Defense Minister Ameen Faisal. After officially opening the new office building of Villingili Police Station, he also hoisted the national flag. Police flag was hoisted by Police Commissioner Ahmed Faseeh.

According to Police Services this is the second police building designed to serve the public under Community Oriented Policing philosophy. The first such building was opened in Addu atoll. The building was designed by Infrastructure Development Department of Maldives Police Services and work on 5 more such buildings are underway across the country, police services revealed. A forensic laboratory, office complex for juvenile cases and detention cells are included in the 2 storey Villingili Police Station.

President calls on Police to prioritize corruption issues

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that Maldives Police Services would not be required to investigate political cases any more and that Maldives Police Services must prioritize investigation of corruption issues.
President Nasheed made the statement speaking at the official meeting held to mark 76 Anniversary of Police Services held on Monday night.

The president said the Police Services will no longer have to investigate political offenses as the incumbent government’s policy is to afford freedom of expression to the people in the most comprehensive manner as possible.

Any corruption issue received would be directly sent to police for investigations without regard to the person or the person’s position in the government, President said. He also said Police should not hesitate to carry out their duties even if he involved in any corruption.

“Anti Corruption Commission is an independent organization, they will maintain watch over government institutions in carrying out their duties, I believe that all corruption issues that require to looked in to by the government should be sent to Police Services for necessary investigation and that is why I have been sending them to Police Services” President Nasheed said.

Development of Police is part of the development of the country and just as we strive to achieve economic progress we must also work to strengthening and improving the services of police, President Nasheed said.

Commissioner of Police Ahmed Faseeh is a reliable and trusted friend known to the President during their school days, President noted. Further President Nasheed highlighted that under the government project on providing housing, priority would be given to police officers, MNDF personnel and technical people such as teachers and people working in health sector.