In Israel and the media circus surrounding the hospital in which Ariel Sharon remains, is beginning to dwindle [BBC]. However, even as the Prime Minister was said to be breathing on his own, he remained “Gravely ill” according to CNN. He is unlikely to recover anytime soon and a new leader is likely to be chosen in the coming week.
British politics suffered a blow with the loss of two high profile politicians. On Sunday the leader of the Liberal Democrats resigned from the party besides having told the Independent on Saturday that he “would fight on”. He had battled allegations of being unpopular and ineffective in the party as well as reports that he was a ‘binge drinker’. Much of the criticism was described as media hype, prior to his resignation. He admitted that he had indeed had a drink problem, but was leaving for the good of the party. Another shock came as it was announced in the early hours of Monday that Tony Banks, a former Labour MP, had died. He had been taken ill on Thursday during a visit to Florida suffering from a massive stroke. The 62 year old, described as a ‘maverick’ by some papers, had stood as MP for West Ham in east-London for a number of years before standing down at the last election. He had in his long political career described Margaret Thatcher as having “the sensitivity of a sex-starved boa-constrictor” and former Conservative leader William Hague as a “foetus”. After his death a friend and former Conservative minister David Mellor said Tony was, “a man of passion in his politics and was in possession of a sharp and witty tongue.” Prime Minister Tony Blair said he was, “proud to have him as a Sports Minister” and that “like everyone in the Labour Party, we will miss him very much and regret that he was taken from us so soon”. Dick Cheney, US Vice President, was also hospitalized over the weekend suffering ‘shortness of breathe’. He has suffered continued health problems and has a pace-maker fitted. [BBC]
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