Friday, June 15, 2012

Some cry 'coup' as Egypt's highest court annuls parliament, military extends power

Japan Meteorological Agency

jma.go.jp - [Earthquake and Seismic Intensity Information] The map and text below show the following details : a) the observed Seismic Intensity (3 and above) and its location and region, b) the date and time ...

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U.S. military completes planning for Syria – CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs

security.blogs.cnn.com- The U.S. military has completed its own planning for how American troops would conduct a variety of operations against Syria, or to assist neighboring countries in the event action was ordered, off...

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Some cry 'coup' as Egypt's highest court annuls parliament, military extends power - CNN.com

edition.cnn.com - Lea este artículo en español/Read this article in Spanish Cairo (CNN) -- Egypt's highest court declared the parliament invalid Thursday, and the country's interim military rulers promptly declared ...

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Argentine leader takes Falklands claim to UN - Americas - Al Jazeera English

aljazeera.com - Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has appeared before a UN committee, demanding Britain discuss her country's claim to the Falklands Islands, on the 30th anniversary of the war

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Egypt High Court Dissolves Parliament, Says Election Was Unconstitutional

By ASSOCIATED PRESS | +

Members of parliament stand and pray for the souls of the victims who died during the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak

(CAIRO) — Egypt’s highest court on Thursday ordered the country’s Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved, saying its election about six months ago was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that a third of the legislature was elected illegally. As a result, it says in its explanation of the ruling, “the makeup of the entire chamber is illegal and, consequently, it does not legally stand.”

The explanation was carried by Egypt’s official news agency and confirmed to The Associated Press by one of the court’s judges, Maher Sami Youssef. The ruling means that new elections for the entire parliament will have to be held.

(MORE: Egypt Candidates Appeal, Charge Vote Fraud

The law governing the parliamentary elections, held over a three-month period starting in November, was ruled unconstitutional by a lower court because it breached the principle of equality when it allowed party members to contest a third of seats set aside for independents. The remaining two thirds were contested by party slates.

In a separate ruling, the court said Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, could stay in the presidential race, rejecting a law passed by parliament last month that barred prominent figures from the old regime from running for office.

Shafiq will go head-to-head on Saturday and Sunday in a runoff against Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s strongest political group.

The ruling said the legislation was not based on “objective grounds” and “constitutes a violation of the principle of equality,” leading to discrimination on “illogical grounds.”

The Brotherhood stands to lose the most by the rulings since it controls just under half of all seats in the legislature and is likely not to do as well in the next election. Its popularity has declined since the legislative election over its failure to translate its parliamentary domination into real political power and its perception as a power hungry group more preoccupied with its own interests than national ones.

#News