Israel's Netanyahu under precautionary COVID-19 quarantine
COVID19 ISREAL NETANYAHU
A statement from Netanyahu's office said that according to "a preliminary assessment...there is no need for the prime minister to be quarantined, as he did not come into close contact with the individual and did not personally meet with that person."
"Over the past two weeks the two were never in the same room at the same time," it added.
The statement further noted that the "epidemiological investigation" was ongoing and that Netanyahu and "his close staff would be in confinement until (tests) were completed."
- Video surveillance -
The Knesset statement said that lawmakers and parliamentary employees have already been instructed to follow the health ministry's orders and self-quarantine if they were in Paluch's vicinity.
The Knesset said it was offering footage from its surveillance cameras to the health ministry for them to see where and when Paluch had been in the building, for the health professionals to determine which measures need be taken.
Israel, which has more than 4,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, has imposed severe restrictions to contain the spread of the virus, including a total ban on non-essential movements.
Netanyahu's office stressed that he has had limited inter-personal contact in recent weeks, conducting "most of his meetings via video conferencing from his residence."
The news comes as Netanyahu, 70, is widely expected to agree on an emergency unity government with his election rival Benny Gantz to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
The two fought three bitter but inconclusive elections over the past year, with neither securing enough support to form a viable coalition government.
Gantz was given the mandate of forming a government following March 2 elections but there was no guarantee he would succeed this time, given rifts within the anti-Netanyahu bloc.
Gantz, a centrist, was elected speaker of Israel's parliament last week and has committed to backing an emergency unity government with Netanyahu, citing the need to combat COVID-19.
Netanyahu, in office since 2009, was in January charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, but the start of his trial has been delayed by the pandemic.
He denies the charges.
Zimbabwe opposition figure fined for claiming poll win
A Zimbabwe court Monday convicted leading opposition figure Tendai Biti of an election crime and fined him for announcing his own results for presidential polls last July, which he claimed he won.
Biti, a respected former finance minister, proclaimed his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) the victor of the contested July 30 poll which sparked anti-government protests that were put down by soldiers.
Six people were killed in the violence.
Magistrate Gloria Takundwa ordered Biti to pay $200 -- the price of a full tank of petrol -- or go to prison for a week. He was also handed a jail term of six months, which was suspended for five years.
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa, who was in court, said the conviction "casts a very dark shadow on our politics".
Zimbabwe was thrown into chaos following the elections, the first in the country's history not to feature former president Robert Mugabe following his resignation in the wake of a brief military takeover in November 2017.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa had promised not to repeat the rigging and intimidation that characterised previous votes, but delays in announcing results enraged the opposition and led to street demonstrations.
Mnangagwa, Mugabe's successor at the head of ruling party ZANU-PF, was later declared the winner according to the official results, but the MDC claims the election was rigged.
Biti fled the country for neighbouring Zambia at the height of the poll tensions but was returned to Zimbabwe despite seeking asylum, sparking an international incident.
The international community has urged Mnangagwa to guarantee the safety of Biti, who was the internationally-respected finance minister in Zimbabwe's 2009-2013 power-sharing government.
Biti's lawyer Doug Coltart described Monday's conviction as a "travesty, and said it remained "open to challenge."
Source: Daily Monitor
