White House security boosted after arrest
AFP, Washington
The US Secret Service has bolstered security at the White House after a man was arrested making threats at one its checkpoints, a third such security scare in just over a week. CNN reported that the man made a threat claiming he had a bomb in his car, and that he was immediately arrested and the car in which he was traveling seized.
Netanyahu threatens snap polls
AFP, Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised Sunday the possibility of snap elections following a dispute with his finance minister over a new national broadcasting service.
Local papers, radio and television channels carried Netanyahu’s threat to dissolve the government-the most rightwing in the country’s history-if the Public Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) isn’t dissolved before its scheduled start date on April 30.
Philippines to build port in disputed South China Sea
International Business Times
The Philippines is set to build a port and a runway on disputed islands and shoals in the South China Sea. The move is likely to be seen as Manila’s latest attempt to bolster its military facilities in the face of China’s extensive military aggressiveness to claim and control territories in the international waterway.
Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana on Friday (17 March) announced that Manila is planning to build a new port and pave an existing rough runway.
Morocco King names new Premier
AFP, Rabat
Morocco’s king on Friday appointed a new prime minister to end a political deadlock that left the North African country without a government for five months, the royal court said. King Mohammed VI named Saad-Eddine El Othmani, a former foreign minister who belongs to the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), to form a new government.
El Othmani will replace Abdelilah Benkirane, who had been previously asked by the king to form a new government after his PJD won the most seats in elections in October 2016.
