Israeli President Reuven Rivlin picks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try to form a new government

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s president has handed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the difficult task of trying to form a new government. That gives the embattled Israeli leader a chance to extend his lengthy term in office. But with the newly elected parliament deeply divided and the prime minister on trial for corruption charges, Netanyahu has little to celebrate. He now has up to six weeks to lure his political foes into a coalition, an effort that appears to have slim odds of success. At the same time, those opponents will be working to form an alternative government that could end his 12-year reign.