NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Kenya unrest: Police in Kenya shot and killed two opposition protesters who allegedly stormed a police station with farm tools and rocks in the western part of the country, while police used tear gas on rallies in the capital, Nairobi, and elsewhere demanding reforms ahead of the new presidential election. At the same time, opposition leader Raila Odinga said he’s willing to return to the race if the government is “ready to do business and deal” on reforms. The demonstrations defied a new government ban on opposition protests in the central business districts of Kenya’s three largest cities, while concerns rose again about election-related violence in East Africa’s largest economy. Opposition leaders have called for daily demonstrations. Odinga, whose legal challenge led the court to nullify President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election, this week said he has left the race because no reforms to electoral commission have been made.
_2 Blow for president: A South African court on Friday dealt a legal blow to President Jacob Zuma, opening the way to the reinstatement of 783 charges of corruption and fraud against him. The Supreme Court of Appeal upheld a lower court’s ruling that a 2009 decision by state prosecutors to drop the charges against Zuma was irrational. The president, who has faced calls for his resignation because of a series of scandals, and the National Prosecuting Authority had appealed the lower court’s ruling. The charges against Zuma were initially instituted in 2005 before he became president, according to the appeals court.
_3 Face-covering vote: The Swiss government says voters will decide whether to ban face-covering garments like masks or Muslim burqas and niqabs. The government said Friday a vote on the ban, championed by far-right groups, will take place. That comes after advocates gathered over 100,000 signatures to put the initiative on the ballot under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy, which lets voters decide major policy issues. The executive Federal Council will set a date for the referendum, not expected before next year. Passage would put Switzerland alongside France, Austria and other European countries in prohibiting face-covering garments.
_4 Guantanamo prisoner: A panel of U.S. military officers at the Guantanamo Bay wartime prison sentenced on Friday a Saudi detainee, Ahmed Muhammed Ahmed Haza al-Darbi, to 13 years in prison for his admitted role in a 2002 attack by al Qaeda on a French oil tanker off the Yemeni coast. The sentencing completed a rare successful case before the military commission system, which has struggled to bring contested cases — unlike that of Darbi, who pleaded guilty in February 2014 — to trial. Darbi received no credit for the nearly 12 years he was in custody before his guilty plea, so he would complete his sentence in February 2027. However, the Pentagon official who oversees the commission system may waive the remainder of his sentence after February 2023.
_5 Flight 666: The Helsinki airport says Flight 666 has arrived safety from Copenhagen, Denmark, in HEL — the airport code for the Finnish capital — for the last time. The flight started 11 years ago and has fallen on Friday the 13th 21 times with no reported ill effects. Still, Finnair has decided to retire the flight number. Later this month, Flight AY666 will become AY954.
Chronicle News Services