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State news: Kuwait court annuls 2022 parliamentary election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Kuwaiti court on Sunday annulled the results of a parliamentary election held last year, saying it would reinstate the previous slate of lawmakers elected in 2020. The decision by Kuwait’s Constitutional Court, reported by the state-run KUNA news agency, threw more chaos into the politics of this small, oil-rich nation on the Persian Gulf.In its decision, the court cited “discrepancies” in the decree dissolving the 2020 parliament for its ruling. Authorities did not immediately explain what this meant for Kuwait’s parliament. Kuwait has the freest and most active assembly among the Gulf Arab states, but political power is still largely concentrated in the hands of the ruling Al Sabah family, which appoints the prime minister and Cabinet, and can dissolve the assembly at any time. In September, voters sent conservative Islamist figures and two women to the assembly in the second election in less than two years. The election results wer...

Bosnia: rights activists assaulted following LGBT event ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Rights activists in the Serb-run part of Bosnia were assaulted late Saturday, hours after banned an LGBT event planned there over the weekend, citing security concerns.The attack took place as the activists were leaving a meeting at the offices of the Bosnian branch of the global anti-corruption group Transparency International in Banja Luka. The meeting was organized after the event they hoped to stage in the northwestern city on Sunday to promote LGBT rights was banned by local police. The activists said a few dozen men chased them through the streets, hurling insults and punches. Before police arrived on the scene, several activists were hurt, including one who required medical attention. The Banja Luka police said law enforcement officers had escorted the activists to the police station to take their statements and were still looking for the perpetrators. The canceled LGBT event, organized and supported by several rights groups from across Bos...

North Korea launches missile into sea amid US-SKorea drills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.The North’s continuation of missile tests showed its determination not to back down despite the U.S.-South Korea exercises, which are the biggest of their kind in years. But many experts say the tests are also part of North Korea’s bigger objective to expand its weapons arsenal, win global recognition as a nuclear state and get international sanctions lifted.The missile launched from the North’s northwestern Tongchangri area flew across the country before it landed in the waters off its east coast, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments. They said the missile traveled a distance of about 800 kilometers (500 miles), a range that suggests the weapon could target South Korea.The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japa...

Letters: Use Alternatives to Violence in St. Paul Schools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

Alternatives to ViolenceThis is in response to a March 12 Letter to the Editor entitled “Control behavior in our schools.”The author states that he had taught school in St. Paul for 18 years but did not mention at what grade level. He suggests several policy controls to bring about more student behavior, which is the typical fallback position of educators with a long history. What he is suggesting is that students are lacking (personal) self-control. But what school offers classes in “life skills” where they can learn and practice such skills? It’s just not part of the curriculum, and teachers will tell you that they would not have time to include it, nor would they know how to teach it.However, there is a solution close at hand that few know about.It is called the Alternatives to Violence Project, or AVP.  The program, which teaches alternatives to violent situations, has a long successful history. It began in New York in a state prison after the 1975 Attica Prison riot...

Voting Begins in Parliamentary and Local Elections, A Key Step in Building a Just Kazakhstan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

Legislative elections are taking place today in Kazakhstan to elect members of the Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament, and the maslikhats, local representative bodies.Significant changes have been made to the electoral system in comparison to previous elections following constitutional amendments last year. A proportional-majoritarian model is being used for the first time since 2004, where 30 per cent of Mazhilis members are elected in single-member districts. The threshold for political parties to gain seats in parliament has been lowered from seven to five per cent. Other changes include an “against all” option on the ballots, and a 30 per cent quota for women, youth, and persons with special needs in party lists, both prior to the election and in the distribution of mandates.Seven political parties are competing in the election, including two new parties that are able to participate due to simplified party registration rules. A total of 281 candidates from seven party lists...

UK Foreign Secretary Visits Kazakhstan, Meets President Tokayev

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

Kazakhstan is the United Kingdom’s primary trading partner in Central Asia, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the UK James Cleverly said during his meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana as part of his first visit to the nation on March 18. According to the President’s press office, Tokayev and Cleverly spoke about strengthening bilateral cooperation in political, trade, economic, investment, and humanitarian fields.“Your visit will give a very strong impetus to further enhance mutual cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UK. I took note of your recent speech at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office that outlined the long-term vision for British foreign policy. Indeed, it is a very important speech,” Tokayev said. The Kazakh President expressed appreciation for the positive dynamics of relations with the UK. “I would like to assess our mutual cooperation as very successful, particularly, in the economic sphere and...

Ask Amy: I turned down the job because of the interviewer’s question (and the no-pants thing)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

Dear Amy: I’m a recently married woman in my mid-20s, looking for a new job.Recently, during an interview with a private school, I was asked about my pregnancy plans. The question was if I had a “plan for balancing children with work.”I coldly said, “My husband and I have spoken about it, and we’re not concerned.”I got offered the job but didn’t take it because of that question, as well as a “no pants” policy for women.When I told the company that I was declining the job, I told them my reasons, and I included a link to the EEOC about pregnancy discrimination, which included a recommendation to not ask that question in interviews. They responded with a general reply wishing me well in the future.Was there a better way to handle it?KDear K: “A no pants” policy? Wouldn’t that upset the children? (I thought that only television anchors could get away with going “no-pants” at work.)Kidding aside, your choice to turn down this position was obviously a good one. Your follow-up was appropr...

Pepper-grinder move unwelcome in Japan high school tourney

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Lars Nootbaar’s imaginary pepper-grinder was the talk of World Baseball Classic games in Japan, but the fun-loving gesture by the St. Louis Cardinals outfielder does not appear welcome in Japan’s popular high school baseball tournament.When a player for Tohoku High School twisted his two fists together — imitating Nootbaar — after getting on first base Saturday, the umpire told him to stop.Hiroshi Sato, manager for Tohoku High School, defended his player. Tohoku lost to Yamanashi Gakuin Senior High School 3-1 at Koshien Stadium in Osaka.“It’s so popular the whole nation is talking about it,” Sato was quoted as saying in the nationally circulated Mainichi newspaper and other Japanese media.“The children are just having fun. Why do adults have to put a stop to it,” said Sato, who played for Tokyo’s Yomiuri Giants.“We should be thinking more about how children can freely enjoy baseball.” High school baseball tournaments are extremely popular in Japan. Maj...

Rain Returns this Sunday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

A front is reaching South Florida this morning, leading to milder temperatures and an increased chance for rain later today and especially into tonight.Sunday will not be a washout but rain chances will gradually increase throughout the day. If you have any outdoor plans, your best bet will be to have them this morning because most areas will likely be dry under partly to mostly cloudy skies. Around midday, temperatures should peak into the upper 70s to low 80s which is about normal for this time of the year. Throughout the afternoon, we’ll begin to see showers and even isolated thunderstorms develop and move in from the south. Therefore, showers should begin in the Keys first, then reaching Broward by the evening or post-sunset hours. The rain won’t be widespread so rain chances peak at a 50% chance by the evening.The rain does become more widespread overnight tonight, however, with rain likely likely all across South Florida. A light to moderate rain is forecast throug...

Provocative Putin makes surprise trip to occupied Mariupol

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:47:43 GMT

A provocative Vladimir Putin made a surprise weekend visit to Russian occupied Mariupol, one of the symbols of Ukrainian resistance.Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov, is located in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast and this is the Russian president’s first trip in the region since the start of his war against Ukraine in February 2022. Mariupol fell to Russia last May, after the Kremlin failed to seize Kyiv. The battle for Mariupol was one of the war’s longest and bloodiest, as Moscow’s troops carried out some of their most notorious strikes. The Russian assaults included an attack on a maternity ward, which the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said was a war crime, and the bombing of a theater that was clearly marked as housing children. It is the closest to the front lines Putin has been since the yearlong war began. The move is likely to be seen as particularly provoking to Ukrainians. The trip to Mariupol came after Pu...