A deadline for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government was set to expire at midnight in Israel with no sign on Tuesday that the country’s longest-serving leader could break more than two years of political deadlock.
There was also no guarantee that, should the right-wing leader fail to assemble a new coalition, parties outside his caretaker government could bridge political differences and unseat him.
Netanyahu, 71, has been in office since 2009 and also served for three years in the 1990s. He has been fighting for his political life through four inconclusive elections since 2019 and is on trial for criminal corruption charges he denies.
If Netanyahu fails to pull off any last-minute surprise by midnight, President Reuven Rivlin can assign the coalition-building task to another member of parliament. That is widely expected to be Yair Lapid, 57, whose centrist Yesh Atid party placed second to Netanyahu’s Likud in the March 23 vote.
via Reuters
11th March 2026
Morning Briefing
Tax reform to exempt pensions from income tax completed
The government has finalised a major tax reform that will see pensions effectively exempt from income tax. ...
10th March 2026
Nearly a dozen U.S. strategic bombers and supporting aircraft have arrived at bases across Europe as Washington signals an escalation of air operations against Iran under Operation Epic ...
11th March 2026
Morning Briefing
Tax reform to exempt pensions from income tax completed
The government has finalised a major tax reform that will see pensions effectively exempt from income tax. ...
10th March 2026
Updated 1220
Most Workplace Safety Inspections Outside Construction Reveal Breaches: Seven in 10 workplace safety inspections outside the construction sector uncover breaches, accordi...
19th February 2026
The Socialists and Democrats (S&D) Group in the European Parliament has demanded urgent clarification from the European Commission over its participation in the first meeting of the ...
4th February 2026
The rising cost of living has emerged as the major issue that Maltese citizens want the European Parliament to address, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey published today.
T...
10th March 2026
Domino's Pizza in Britain is betting on its new fried chicken brand to drive growth beyond pizza, as the chain captured more than half the takeaway market in the UK for pies despite con...
10th March 2026
Qantas Airways said on Tuesday it would hike fares on its international routes this week in response to the surge in jet fuel costs due to the conflict in the Middle East.
The Aust...
2nd February 2026
Vivian continues to widen its portfolio with the announcement of new representation agreements with worldwide R&D pharmaceutical companies. “These latest agreements crown a very succ...
19th December 2025
Two local analysts have cautioned that any attempt by EU Member States to block or restrict the passporting of crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) authorised under the Markets in...
9th March 2026
A delegation from the Malta Maritime Forum (MMF) travelled to Brussels to discuss the impact of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) with European institutions, industry associations ...
6th March 2026
The Malta Competition and Consumer Authority has approved a strategic investment by Thomas Smith, Malta’s most established logistics provider, into Fastdrop, the island’s leading 24/7 de...
10th March 2026
Nearly a dozen U.S. strategic bombers and supporting aircraft have arrived at bases across Europe as Washington signals an escalation of air operations against Iran under Operation Epic ...
10th March 2026
Scores of people have been killed across the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, with Gulf states that host U.S. military bases and personnel as well as ...
25th February 2026
Thousands of Cuban security personnel have begun leaving Caracas after nearly two decades in Venezuela, as Washington ramps up efforts to dismantle the long standing alliance between the...
9th February 2026
María Corina Machado is a prominent figure in Venezuela’s opposition. She has reported that one of her closest associates, Juan Pablo Guanipa, was abducted. This occurred mere hours afte...
3rd March 2026
Ukraine will complete the technical work needed to open negotiations on all topics for its European Union accession process within days, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenski...
26th February 2026
More than 1,700 Africans are fighting for Russia in its war in Ukraine, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, adding that Moscow was using deception to trick them into fighting....