IEC opposes DA in court action over PR-list complaint
The DA’s bid to have the proportional representation (PR) lists of ActionSA, the EFF, the MK Party, and the GOOD party set aside (arguing that their strategy to submit only one name before the election, but amend the lists later if they win more seats amounts to bad faith) is being opposed by the Electoral Commission (IEC), which says the complaint is without merit, and risks disrupting next month’s local government elections. The IEC said its position was based on the fact that the Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act and the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act “prescribe objective requirements, which the commission must apply to every party in the same way”. “The commission has no power to inquire into the motives of a party that complies with them, and the scheme does not permit it to treat one party differently from another on that basis.” The chairperson of the DA’s federal council, Ashor Sarupen, argued: “People can vote differently for ward candidates and PR lists. A voter may vote for a ward candidate because she wants that person to be her ward candidate, not because she supports ActionSA. She may be influenced not to vote for ActionSA based on other names on a party list, even if she likes the individual ward candidate.”
“Too early to say” what motivated Flydubai attacker – Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was too early to say why the co-pilot of the Flydubair flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv stabbed the pilot and tried to take over the plane, causing it to plunge more than 5,200m before passengers and crew burst into the cockpit and retook control to land safely. The stabbed pilot, named as Indian national Captain Smit Machchhar, was taken to hospital but is in a stable condition. The co-pilot, said to be an Omani, was arrested in Saudi Arabia, where the plane landed. Netanyahu described the event as “a serious security incident,” but said there was no indication yet of the motive, adding that it was “too early to say” if there was any indication of Iran’s involvement.
Immigration concerns behind Japan’s steep permanent-residency fee hike
Stiffer requirements for permanent residency in Japan include a steep hike in fees – raised by 20 times to 200,000 yen ($1,270), as well as new income, pension and Japanese-language requirements. The fee increases are part of a series of changes to Japan’s immigration policy under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, which aim to manage its rapidly growing foreign population. Visa fees went up by five times in July – the first fee rise in 50 years – with authorities saying this was meant to “reflect inflation and exchange rate fluctuations”. Immigration is a sensitive topic in Japan, but, with its ageing population, the country increasingly relies on foreign workers to plug labour shortages.
Tennessee death row inmate in hospital after surviving two execution attempts
Fifty-year-old Christa Pike was to have been the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years – for a murder she committed aged 18 – but was heard snoring by witnesses 40 minutes after being injected with two lethal doses of pentobarbital. She was taken to hospital in an ambulance. The Tennessee Department of Correction later confirmed that Pike had survived the state’s effort to execute her, saying “the lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening”. Her attorneys told a local news station “this has turned into agony and a violation of Pike’s right to be executed free of cruel and unusual punishment”.
Withdrawal of last US troops from Iraq seen as defeat for Washington
The announcement of the withdrawal of the last American troops from bases in Iraq – in line with the 2024 plan drawn up under President Joe Biden – is reportedly being celebrated by Iran and its allies, with Abu Mojtaba al-Yasiri, a commander in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, being quoted as saying that this marked a “historic victory for the Iraqi Islamic resistance groups and honorable Iraqis, and a crushing defeat for the American project”. Of the 18 US service members listed as killed since the Trump administration launched “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran in February, seven died in Iraq. Baghdad-based political analyst Ahmed Younis says the US withdrawal raises “the possibility that Iran’s proxies will feel increasingly empowered in the absence of a Western military presence”, adding: “These groups may attempt to expand their role in shaping state policies and consolidating their presence within key institutions.”
Sources: News24, BBC, The Guardian, Reuters