Female Supreme Court nominee rejected by Afghan Parliament

Saturday 18th July 2015 08:02 EDT
 

Female Supreme Court nominee rejected by Afghan Parliament

Kabul: In a blow to the government's attempts to promote women at high positions, lawmakers of Afghanistan rejected the first female nominee for the country's Supreme Court. President Ashraf Ghani had nominated Anisa Rasouli, the head of the Afghan Woman Judges' Association and a juvenile court judge to join the Supreme Court's nine-member bench in a move that did not bode well with several Islamic conservatives. Rasouli needed 97 votes out of 193 to win, but managed only 88 votes with the MPs approving another male member of the Supreme Court and the governor of the central bank. “Unfortunately, Anisa Rasouli... could not get the vote of confidence to become a member of the supreme court. We ask the president to introduce another candidate,” Abdul Zahir Qadeer, deputy chairman of the parliament, told the session after a secrete vote.

Myanmar sets date for historic general election

Naypyitaw: Myanmar will go to the polls on 8 November in its first open general election in 25 years. The vote is seen as a crucial stage towards full democracy. Reforms in the country have been hoped for since 2010, when military rule was replaced by a military-backed civilian government. The ruling USDP now faces a head-to-head contest with Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. She won elections in 1990 that were scrapped. Eighty-three parties are expected to contest the polls and a quarter of the 664 parliamentary seats will be reserved for the military. A president will be chosen by parliament after the election but under the constitution Suu Kyi is barred from taking the top job because her late husband was British and her two sons are British citizens.

Soldiers die in Saudi-led air coalition

Yemen: Dozens of soldiers were killed in a Saudi-led coalition air strike on an army base in southern Yemen. The incident in which the soldiers died took place at the headquarters of the 23rd Mechanised Brigade in al-Abr, Hadramawt province, near the border with Saudi Arabia. A military source said the coalition aircraft bombed the base, used by forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, while attempting to stop rebel forces taking control of a nearby border crossing. At least 30 soldiers were killed, and armoured vehicles and troop carriers were destroyed or damaged, before the situation was brought under control.

High profile Tibetan monk dies in Chinese prison

Beijing: One of China's most prominent political prisoner, 65 year old Tenzin Delek Rinpoche died in jail. He died in Chuandong prison in the southwestern city of Chengdu, as reported by his cousin, Geshe Nyima. The Tibetan government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration, also confirmed his death. “The fact that he was not even allowed medical parole and last wish of followers to see him reflects continuing hardline policies of the Chinese government,” said Lobsang Sangay, Head of the India based administration. The cause of his death was not clear, but rights groups said he was suffering from a heart condition. The monk's sisters were later notified by the authorities. Tenzin Delek was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in 2002, the sentence was later changed to life imprisonment and reduced to a term of 20 years.

Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata succumbs to cancer

Tokyo: Donkey Kong and Pokemon maker firm, Nintendo has confirmed the demise of it Chief Executive Officer Satoru Iwata owing to bile duct cancer. Iwata led Nintendo's development into a global company, with its hit Wii home console and DS handheld, and also through its recent woes caused by the popularity of smartphones. Iwata, who started off as a programmer, took the top post at Nintendo in 2002, two years after joining and was more recently pushing a long-awaited departure from its consoles-only policy in a bid to repair a battered balance sheet. A visibly thinner Iwata had announced last year that he was sick and did not attend the firm's shareholder meeting in June 2014. The severity of his illness was unclear at the time.

Saudi King Salman changed cabinet again

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's King Salman named a new housing minister and replaced the head of the royal court in his latest government reorder for no announced reason. A decree named Minister of State Khalid bin Abdulrahman al-Issa will replace Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Suwailem as head of the royal court, a kind of gatekeeper to the king. Suwailem had held the post until he took over from Salman's powerful son Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of a major shake-up which saw the king's son named Deputy Crown Prince and second in line to the throne. The King further streamlined administration by merging the royal court with the crown prince's court, based on a suggestion by Mohammed bin Nayef. Another royal decree Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah bin Musaid bin Jalwi al-Saud is appointed as governor of the Northern Frontier Province which borders Iraq to replace the previous governor who died this month.

Rajapaksa to run for PM in August elections

Colombo: A coalition led by Sri Lanka's president has nominated war-time leader Mahinda Rajapaksa to run in elections next month as per official documents. Rajapaksa will stand in the country's third-largest electoral district, Kurunagala, where most voters have relatives in the military. His allies say if elected, he would immediately resume Chinese projects suspended by the current Sirisena government. Rajapaksa and his regime still face a United Nations war crimes investigation, a report on alleged rights abuses in the final phase of the war is due in September. Sirisena, a former minister in Rajapaksa's administration, defected last year to run for president, promising fresh elections in 2015. The parliamentary election comes after months of deadlock in the legislature, as a six-month-old coalition government brought together by Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe struggled to pass important political reforms. The elections are set for Aug 17.

Japanese companies enter arms race

Yokohama: Some of Japan's biggest companies that are known for producing motorcycles, washing machines and laptop computers are pitching into a new line of products; military hardware. After a ban on weapons exports maintained for nearly 50 years by the government, globally noted firms like Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, Hitachi, Toshiba and other military contractors are unmistakenly showcasing their products. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lifted the prohibition on military exports last year as part of loosening of restrictions on Japan’s military power that were put in place after its defeat in World War II and is counting on the increased military trade to strengthen ties with other countries. Less than one per cent of Japan’s industrial output is military-related, and only four Japanese companies are among the top 100 arms producers ranked by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Giant, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries earns less than a 10th of the revenue from military sales as the top U.S. military contractor, Lockheed Martin.

New Horizons explores the last of the solar system

Nasa: Scientists at Nasa's New Horizons control centre erupted in cheers as they celebrated the spacecraft's dramatic flyby of Pluto. The probe shot past at more than 28,000mph (45,000 km/h) at 12.49pm BST (7.49am ET) on a trajectory that brought the fastest spacecraft ever to leave Earth’s orbit within 7,770 miles of Pluto’s surface. The moment was played out by The Final Countdown, a band from Europe as the United States glowed in the historic moment. They are now the only nation to have explored every planet in the solar system. “It feels good,” said Alan Stern, lead scientist on the mission. “So many people put so much work into this around the country. We’ve completed the initial reconnaissance of the solar system, an endeavour started under President Kennedy.” “It’s just amazing. It’s truly a hallmark in human history,” he said of the encounter with Pluto. “It’s been an incredible voyage.”

Yousafzai opens school for Syrian girls

Beirut: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai spent her 18th birthday on the Syrian border as she inaugurated the Malala Yousafzai All-girls school that will offer education and skills training to girls aged 14 to 18. “I am here on behalf of the 28 million children who are kept from the classroom because of armed conflict. I am honoured to mark my 18th birthday with the brave and inspiring girls of Syria. On this day, I have a message for the leaders of this country, this region and the world: you are failing the Syrian people, especially Syria's children. This is a heartbreaking tragedy -the world's worst refugee crisis in decades.”


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