Kenya’s rerun of election set for Oct.
Compiled from news services
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga will face each other in a new presidential election on Oct. 17, the electoral commission said, after the Supreme Court annulled last month’s vote.
Mr. Kenyatta and Mr. Odinga and their running mates will be the only candidates for the poll.
Kenya’s top court on Sept. 1 upheld the main opposition’s complaint that Mr. Kenyatta’s victory in the Aug. 8 vote was aided by rigging in a shock decision that marked the first time a court in Africa has overturned the results of a presidential election.
Israeli PM’s investigation
JERUSALEM— With a slew of corruption scandals closing in on him, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is dropping what remains of his statesmanlike persona in favor of an angry nationalism that’s popular with his base.
Recent days’ headlines have been dominated by arrests of Mr. Netanyahu confidants, a court ruling forcing him to reveal phone records, leaks from inside the investigation and indications that his wife Sara will be indicted for fraud.
Raqqa's Old City seized
BEIRUT — U.S.-backed forces in Syria have captured the Old City of Raqqa, the latest milestone in their ongoing assault against the self-proclaimed capital of the Islamic State’s rapidly shrinking territories, according to a U.S. military statement on Monday.
Kurdish and Arab fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces secured the neighborhood over the weekend after vanquishing a last pocket of resistance in the city’s historic Grand Mosque, the statement said.
The capture followed a grinding two-month battle for the neighborhood that has proved the toughest challenge yet of a threemonth-old offensive for Raqqa, launched in June and still far from over.
Gender debate in UK
In the gender wars recently, British retailers have had trouble striking the right balance in the children’s aisle, either perpetuating stereotypes or going too far in the opposite direction.
The supermarket Asda came under criticism for selling T-shirts for boys featuring slogans like “Future Scientist,” while their Tshirts for girls proclaimed “Hey Cutie!” and “Ponies Rock.”
But now, some consumers are saying John Lewis has gone to the other extreme, after news reports that the chain has removed gender-specific labels altogether from its brand of children clothes. Instead it is putting “boys & girls” or “girls & boys” tags on these items, whether trousers or skirts.
The new policy, praised by many parents and rights advocates for promoting inclusiveness and breaking outmoded norms, has provoked a spirited debate on social media and elsewhere.
Opponents of the change accused the store of succumbing to political correctness and threatened a boycott.