Israel: Gov’t Loses Kadima Party
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu currently rules with a narrow majority in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) after the centrist Kadima party pulled out of the ruling coalition in protest at the failure to reform the country’s military draft laws.
Deputies from the Likud right-wing party, headed by Netanyahu, appealed for consolidation with the extreme right and religious parties remaining in the coalition, a situation that is expected to lead to diminished peace negotiations with Palestinians.
After weeks of debates and only two months after joining the Executive, the head of the Kadima party, Shaul Mofaz, announced on Tuesday the party´s departure from the coalition, in protest against the stance of the leader regarding ultra-orthodox Jews.
Netanyahu, whose rule depends on radical groups such as Shass, headed by Minister of the Interior Eli Yishai, and Yisrael, headed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, defends the implementation of the so-called Tal Law, which exempts ultra-orthodox Jews from serving in the military. Mofaz, whose party won the last legislative elections and holds 28 of the 120 seats of the Knesset, backs the Supreme Court ruling which states that the aforementioned law is unconstitutional.
Military service in Israel is compulsory at 18 years of age and lasts up to three years. Many men and women are called as reservists for emergency situations, but ultra-orthodox Jews have been exempted from military service.
Iran Announces Readiness to Help Solve Syrian Crisis
Iran’s unrestricted willingness to help solve the crisis in Syria was expressed here today by the official spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast.
Iran plays an important role in the solution of crises in the region; therefore, it has carried out all efforts to restore stability in Syria, he said at his weekly press conference.
In this regard, he added that the opposition’s demands “must be examined properly but without foreign interference.”
Russia insists on the advisability of Iran’s involvement in the negotiations between the Syrian government and its opponents, an opinion which the UN/Arab League special envoy for the Middle East country, Kofi Annan, appears to tacitly share.
The Western powers that are permanent members of the UN Security Council: the United States, France and Britain, and other members of NATO support a military solution to the conflict, which had a dramatic landmark today in the wake of the death of Syrian Defense Minister Daoud Rajha and other high ranking officials in a bomb attack.
Syria is accusing Turkey and oil rich countries of the Persian Gulf of exporting chaos to its territory through the introduction of weapons and subversive experts.
Chilean Government Forced to Veto Wage Increase
The rejection by the Chilean Congress of a salary adjustment proposal has caused discomfort for the executive branch, which was forced to exercise a presidential veto to reissue the controversial legislative initiative. According to regulations, the Executive will have to present the only recourse it has, bringing the measure to a vote in both houses of the legislature, presumably in quick sessions this Wednesday.
Parliament rejected the salary increase as insufficient, precarious, and undignified. Senator Guido Girardi, from the opposition Party for Democracy (PPD) said the government still has the option to refrain from presenting something that has already been rejected three times. He promised to continue to reject any indecent minimum wage proposal.
Girardi said that societies are dynamic and the “right-wing has trouble understanding that there is a new social demand for second and third generation rights.” One of those rights is “access to a decent life, a more just and equitable Chile,” he affirmed.
The Executive branch confirmed on Tuesday that it will use the so-called additive veto of the president of the republic which requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority in both chambers to be overruled.
PPD Senator Ricardo Lagos said “I want to register that at least, as an opposition, we had a different view and maintained it until the end. Workers will have their adjustment, but it will be the one the government wanted and not the one we considered possible,” he emphasized.
Given the current stage of discussion, the Government proposed an adjustment of 193,000 pesos (about $386), well below that requested by a number of unions, of around 250,000 pesos ($500 dollars) from the current wage base of 182,000 pesos ($364 dollars).
The United Workers Central (CUT) stressed, however, that the most pressing need is for an in-depth analysis of labor instability, the need for a new labor code and the right to strike, unionization and collective bargaining.
Via PL