TV News LIES

The Swiss postal system stripped WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of a key fundraising tool Monday, accusing him of lying and immediately shutting down one of his bank accounts. The swift action by Postfinance, the financial arm of Swiss Post, came after it determined the "Australian citizen provided false information regarding his place of residence during the account opening process."

Assange had told Postfinance he lived in Geneva but could offer no proof that he was a Swiss resident, a requirement of opening such an account. Postfinance spokesman Alex Josty told The Associated Press the account was closed Monday afternoon and there would be "no criminal consequences" for misleading authorities.

Wikileaks's founder, Julian Assange, singled out Netanyahu for praise as a world leader who believes the embarrassing leaks will aid "global diplomacy." In an interview with Time  magazine, Assange said "Netanyahu believes that the result of this publication, which makes the sentiments of many privately held beliefs public, are promising a pretty good . . . . [and] will lead to some kind of increase in the peace process in the Middle East and particularly in relation to Iran." Assange, who is believed to be in the United Kingdom, is the subject of an INTERPOL arrest warrant for alleged "sex crimes" in Sweden.

Police illegally questioned two Palestinian minors late at night, even though there was no lawyer or adult family member present, their lawyer told the Kfar Sava Magistrate's Court this week.

The minors, both 16-year-olds from Qalqilyah, are suspected of being accessories to the theft of three bicycles and two helmets that were found three weeks ago in the possession of two adults from Qalqilyah. These men were carrying the identity cards of the teens, which led police and military personnel to raid the minors' homes in Qalqilyah at 2 A.M. Monday.

Israel Democratic Institute conducts study on democracy, concludes that more than half Israelis say Arabs should be encouraged to emigrate.

Approximately 86 percent of Israeli Jews believe any final Knesset decision regarding the country's future political arrangement must be approved by a Jewish majority, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Israel Democratic Institute.

Voters on the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa re-elected a governor on Sunday who campaigned for the removal of an American Marine base there, throwing a wrench into a deal between Japan and the United States to relocate the base and posing a challenge for the United States as it grapples with a response to North Korean aggression.

Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima, 71, had once supported the plan to transfer the base to a less populated part of Okinawa, but he reversed himself after strong opposition by residents.

Since [1995], the US has strongly resisted any efforts under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to promote extension of safeguards to Israel's undeclared nuclear facilities or, indeed, to promote a Middle East nuclear weapons-free zone, despite the fact that both are fully consistent with stated US non-proliferation policy.

Instead, the US and Israel have claimed that Israeli accession to the NPT and establishment of a regional nuclear weapons-free zone must await both a comprehensive Middle East peace and full compliance of all regional states (read: Iran and Syria) with their IAEA obligations.