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Nepal’s parliament voted to amend the country’s Constitution with a two-thirds majority four months after its promulgation, in a bid to resolve a political dispute with the minority Madhesi community.
The amendment aims at resolving the ongoing agitation by the Madhesi parties. The lawmakers of the agitating parties, however, boycotted the voting, saying the purported amendment was incomplete and would not address their demands.
Madhesis, largely of Indian-origin, are opposed to the new Constitution that divides the country into six federal provinces, claiming the federal structure incorporated in the new charter does not satisfy their demands. Madhesis, who share strong cultural and family bonds with Indians, demand demarcation of provinces, fixing of electoral constituencies on the basis of population and proportional representation. Fifty-five people have been killed in the four-month protest by Madhesis.
Denmark’s parliament adopted reforms aimed at dissuading migrants from seeking asylum by delaying family reunifications and allowing authorities to seize their valuables, under legislation that has sparked widespread condemnation.
The government insists the law is needed to stem the flow of refugees even though Denmark and Sweden recently tightened their borders, a move that prompted Germany and Austria to turn back new arrivals heading for Scandinavia.
The bill presented by the right-wing minority government of Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, of the Venstre party, was approved by a huge majority of 81 of the 109 lawmakers present, as members of the opposition Social Democrats backed the measures.
“There’s no simple answer for a single country, but until the world comes together on a joint solution (to the migrant crisis), Denmark needs to act,” a Venstre party MP said.
The legislation stirred great controversy, with Mr Rasmussen defending it as “the most misunderstood bill in Denmark’s history”. International outrage has focused on plans to allow police to seize cash and valuables from refugees to help pay for their stay in asylum centres, while rights activists have blasted a proposed three-year delay for family reunifications which they say breaches international conventions. Some have likened the Danish proposals to the confiscation of gold and other valuables from Jews by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Mr Rasmussen has shrugged off the criticism, seemingly more concerned with opinion polls showing that 70 per cent of Danes rank immigration as their top political concern.
Social Democrat Dan Jorgensen addressed opponents of the bill, demanding: “To those saying what we are doing is wrong, my question is: What is your alternative? The alternative is that we continue to be (one of) the most attractive countries in Europe to come to, and then we end up like Sweden”.
Copenhagen has often referred to neighbouring Sweden as a bad example, where 163,000 asylum applications were submitted last year — five times more than in Denmark relative to their population size.
Denmark’s minority government eventually backtracked on parts of the plan to confiscate migrants’ valuables in order to secure backing for the bill from two small right-wing parties and the opposition Social Democrats.
Asylum seekers will now have to hand over cash exceeding 10,000 kroner (U.S.$1,450) and any individual items valued at more than that amount, up from the initial 3,000 kroner proposed. After thorny negotiations with the other parties, Integration Minister Inger Stojberg agreed to make wedding rings and other items of sentimental value exempt. The government has defended the move by arguing that Danes who want to qualify for social benefits may also have to sell their valuables. However, they are not subjected to the kind of searches proposed in the new asylum law.
China urged the U.S. to respect and abide by its laws, and not to undermine the mutual trust and regional peace and stability as a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed within 12 nautical miles of Zhongjian Dao, Xisha Islands.
According to China’s law on the territorial sea and contiguous zone enacted in 1992, foreign warships entering China’s territorial waters must be approved by the Chinese government.
“The U.S. warship violated Chinese law and entered the country’s territorial sea without authorisation. The Chinese side conducted surveillance and vocal warnings to the U.S. warship,” the Chinese Government said.
It also said the U.S. act severely violated Chinese law, sabotaged the peace, security and good order of the waters, and undermined the region’s peace and stability. It said China’s law on the territorial sea and contiguous zone accords with the international law and practice, and that many other countries have similar laws.
The Chinese government also issued a statement on territorial sea baseline on May 15, 1996, which announced part of the baseline of the territorial sea adjacent to China’s mainland and the baseline of the territorial sea adjacent to the Xisha Islands. “The U.S. side is fully aware of this, yet it still sent its warship into China’s territorial sea without authorisation. It is a deliberate provocation,” the Chinese government said.
For many years, the U.S. side has proposed measures to ensure navigation safety of ships and aircraft of all parties, but it repeatedly sent vessels and planes into China’s territorial sea and air space regardless of the country’s opposition, leading to close encounters of navy and air force troops of the two countries, Beijing said adding that the move on the U.S. side is very unprofessional and irresponsible for the safety of the troops of both sides, and may cause extremely dangerous consequences.
Authorities in Brazil, where a Zika outbreak has been linked to severe birth defects, disclosed two cases of transmission tied to blood transfusions, adding to concerns over the spread of the virus. The virus, spreading quickly across Latin America and the Caribbean, is usually transmitted by the bite of a mosquito.
In the first case, genetic testing confirmed that a man who received a blood transfusion using blood donated by another man infected with Zika in March 2015 became infected with the virus, although he did not develop symptoms.
In the second case, another man, who had suffered gunshot wounds, also became infected with Zika after receiving multiple blood transfusions that included blood donated by an infected person in April 2015. The patient later died from his gunshot wounds and not the Zika infection.
The Brazil cases, along with a reported case of sexual transmission of the virus in Texas, U.S., add a new dimension to efforts to limit Zika’s spread. The cases have emerged at an awkward time because Rio de Janeiro is preparing to host the Olympic Games in August when tens of thousands of athletes and tourists were expected to visit Brazil’s second largest city. Brazil is investigating more than 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, a condition in which infants are born with abnormally small heads and can suffer developmental problems, that may be linked to the outbreak.
Scientists have begun to study whether Zika infection in pregnancy can cause microcephaly. The World Health Organization, citing strong suspicions of a link between the two and the spike in cases in Brazil, declared a global health emergency.
The Marshall Islands parliament has elected Hilda Heine as the country’s new president, making her the first woman to head the government of an independent Pacific Island nation. Her election came a day after a no confidence motion removed Casten Nemra, who was in the office for just seven days. His tenure is the shortest presidency in the island’s history. Dr Heine, the former education minister, the first woman in the country to obtain a doctorate.