Noticias

Anisa Shahee.-

As widespread battles continue in suburbs of Kunduz city in northern Afghanistan, the Afghan public's criticism over government's handling of the situation and that of security in the embattled province has gathered momentum in the past two weeks.

A number of displaced Kunduz residents said on Sunday that the National Unity Government leaders have not kept promises they made to change Kunduz in to a hub of economic development and commercial activities.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition will not be expanded beyond its 61 MKs, despite the terror raging across the country, the heads of opposition factions indicated in the Knesset Monday night.

There were hopes in the Likud that the terrorist attacks could be used as a catalyst to widen the razor-thin majority the coalition has in the parliament.

Netanyahu even invited the Zionist Union to enter the government at a press conference last Thursday.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam said he did not expect to call for a cabinet session anytime soon over the lack of consensus among the country's rival political leaders.

“We want the session to be productive and we want it to become a turning point in resolving the waste crisis,” Salam told As Safir newspaper published on Monday.

“But unfortunately the conditions are not ripe yet to hold such a session,” he said.

Naser Al Remeithi.-

ABU DHABI // The 20 candidates who won election to the Federal National Council have been cleared to take their seats on the new consultative body.

And Yemeni pupils are also winners, after the National Elections Commission decided to donate the many computers, touchscreens, laptops and printers used in the ballot to schools in the country.

The NEC said its appeals committee had found no objections to any of the winners.

Egypt’s Socialist Popular Alliance Party (SPAP) will launch on Sunday evening a new campaign called “If You Elect Them” to warn voters of the dangers of electing to parliament members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and Hosni Mubarak’s dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP).

Medhat El-Zahed, acting chair member of the SPAP, said in a press conference on Wednesday that the party “is participating to fight against the return of the old faces of Mubarak and political Islam.”

Criticism is mounting against Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy Aydın Ünal over controversial remarks about the deadly bomb attack in Ankara on Saturday that targeted some opposition parties and critical media outlets.

“We are watching the CHP [Republican People's Party] and the HDP [Peoples' Democratic Party] administration, as well as the Doğan/Fethullah media which swarm on the blood spilt in Ankara. You will be drowned in that blood,” tweeted Ünal on Saturday.

The Oslo peace process is not the only export from Norway to Israel that is facing tough times ahead of Monday’s return of the Knesset from its extended summer and holiday recess.

So is the so-called Mini-Norwegian Law, which allows ministers and deputy ministers to quit the Knesset and enable the next candidate on their party’s list to enter, but permits the ministers to return to the legislature if they quit the cabinet.

Some 27,402,353 voters are registered to take part in the elections first round due to start 18 October in Egypt, stated the Higher Elections Commitee (HEC) Saturday.

The first round will cover 14 governorates that include a total of 103 electoral constituencies.

Egyptians aboard will vote in the first round 17 October.

According to HEC spokesperson Omar Marawan, voters include 13,257,507 women and 14,144,846 men.

The first round will choose 226 MPs of a total of 596. There are 2,573 electoral candidates for the first round.