Sri Lanka's independent elections commission said it cannot hold parliamentary elections on June 20 as planned because of the coronavirus outbreak. Saliya Peiris, a lawyer representing the commission, told the Supreme Court that the elections can only be held 10 weeks after health authorities declare conditions are safe. Several former lawmakers and civil groups had complained to the court that their fundamental rights were breached by the commission's earlier decision to hold election on June 20. The election was originally set for April 25 but the commission rescheduled it for June. Peiris said the commission chose that date expecting the country's lockdown would be lifted by the end of this month. The petitioners also asked the court to annul President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's move on March 2 to dissolve Parliament and reinstate the old Parliament because the constitution says the country cannot run without a legislature for more than three months. Parliament's term was to end in September but the president has the power to dissolve it six months ahead of schedule, and also to reconvene it in an emergency. The court has not yet said whether it will hear that case.
Project to build a new cricket stadium abandoned
Sri Lankan government has decided to stop its proposed project to build what was to be the island's biggest international cricket stadium following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. 'It has been decided to suspend the proposed new international cricket stadium project in Homagama,' Prime Minister's office said after a meeting attended by former cricketers. It said Rajapaksa had also instructed to direct funds to develop school cricket and local stadiums. Rajapaksa met with the former senior cricketers following a public outcry against the construction. There was no immediate reaction from the governing body, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to the Prime Minister's decision. The SLC wanted to build a new stadium nearer to Colombo was needed to host two ICC World Cup events which are scheduled to be held in the years 2023 to 2031. The SLC had done inspection of a site at Homagama, a Colombo eastern suburb where they wanted to build a 40,000 seat capacity international cricket stadium costing 30-40 million dollars. This drew a social media outcry about the need to invest large sums of money on a new cricket stadium given the dire economic times in the Covid-19 pandemic background.
Death for two Pak militants
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan sentenced two militants to death for their involvement in a suicide bombing at a shrine in Sindh province that claimed 82 lives. According to police, the accused - Nadir Ali and Furqan - were identified by the eyewitnesses and judicial magistrate Mushtaq Ali Jokhio through CCTV footage. They were found guilty in the 2017 bombing case in Sehwan Sharif area of Sindh province. The suicide bombing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan Sharif on February 16, 2017 killed 82 people and left hundreds of others injured. The convicts had reportedly carried out recce of the shrine with the suicide bomber a day before the explosion. In his statement to the court, Jokhio had identified Ali and said that he had confessed to facilitating the terrorists. The convict had told the magistrate that he rented a room in Sehwan a day before the blast, while also inspecting the tomb of Lal Shahbaz Qalander from the inside to make the bombing successful, the report said. The shrine's caretakers had also identified the convicts, claiming that they had seen them congratulating each other in the parking lot.
Court cancels bail granted to child pornographer
A Pakistani court has dismissed a review petition of a man who was convicted of child pornography two years ago and cancelled the bail granted to him earlier this month. Lahore High Court's Justice Farooq Haider had suspended seven-year sentence of Saadat Amin and ordered his release on bail last week. Following a strong reaction to the LHC’s decision from the rights activists, civil society, lawyers and even former superior court judges, Justice Haider allowed a civil miscellaneous application on Amin’s appeal against his sentence and reversed his own decision by dismissing it.
'The convict will serve his full sentence,' ruled the judge after hearing the arguments from the convict's counsel and the additional attorney general. Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmad had also taken notice of bail granted to the pornographer and directed the attorney general's office to look into the matter. The Federal Investigation Agency's special court had handed down the conviction on 45-year-old Amin and imposed Rs 12,00,000 fine on him in April, 2018. According to FIA, it was the first-ever conviction in any child pornography scam in Pakistan.
Khashoggi's sons forgive Saudi killers, sparing 5 execution
The family of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi announced that they have forgiven his Saudi killers, giving legal reprieve to five government agents who had been sentenced to death for an operation that cast a cloud of suspicion over the kingdom's crown prince. “We, the sons of the martyr Jamal Khashoggi, announce that we forgive those who killed our father as we seek reward from God Almighty,” wrote one of his sons, Salah Khashoggi, on Twitter. Salah Khashoggi, who lives in Saudi Arabia and has received financial compensation from the royal court for his father's killing, explained that forgiveness was extended to the killers during the last nights of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in line with Islamic tradition to offer pardons in cases allowed by Islamic law. The Saudi court's ruling in December that the killing was not premeditated paved the way for the announcement by leaving the door open for reprieve. Additionally, the finding was in line with the government’s official explanation of Khashoggi's slaying that he was killed accidentally in a brawl by agents trying to forcibly return him to Saudi Arabia.
China warns of 'countermeasures' over US threat
Beijing will retaliate if the US Congress passes legislation seeking sanctions against China over the coronavirus pandemic, the spokesman for the country's parliament said. Tensions between the global superpowers have soared in recent weeks as they have traded verbal blows over the disease. Washington has criticised Beijing for its initial handling of the virus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year before spreading around the world. US President Donald Trump stepped up the rhetoric by tweeting that China was responsible for "mass Worldwide killing". Republican senators proposed legislation last week that would empower Trump to slap sanctions on China if Beijing does not give a "full accounting" for the outbreak. "We firmly oppose these bills, and will make a firm response and take countermeasures based on the deliberation of these bills," spokesman Zhang Yesui said at a news conference on the eve of the annual session of the National People's Congress. "It is neither responsible nor moral to cover up one's own problems by blaming others. We will never accept any unwarranted lawsuits and demands for compensation," Zhang said.
Kim Jong-un cannot magically bend time, space
The official newspaper of North Korea has denied that the regime's leaders can magically bend time and space, putting an end to a long tradition used to idolise the mystical powers of Kim Jong-un and former leader Kim Jong-il. In the latest sign that the secretive regime is turning away from myth-making about its leaders, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper denied that the Kim family are masters of "chukjibeop", a method of folding space and travelling great distances in a short period of time. Chukjibeop is one of the myths that has been used by the North to deify its leaders. The newspaper said: "In realistic terms, a person cannot suddenly disappear and reappear by folding space." An official at South Korea's unification ministry said that the current regime's trend of demystification is "noteworthy". "It appears to stress patriotism and love for the people rather than mystification of the leaders," the official told Yonhap news agency.
Mahathir promises 'very big trouble'
Veteran Malaysian politician Mahathir Mohamad said he would seek to oust Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin at every turn, scolding his successor for bringing back into power a graft-tainted party rejected by voters in an historic election two years ago. The prospect of more political and policy uncertainty in Malaysia comes at a time when the multi-ethnic Southeast Asian nation is grappling with the health crisis and economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The 94-year-old Mahathir, who resigned the premiership in February, questioned the legitimacy of Muhyiddin's 2-1/2 month old coalition with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). "It's wrong for this backdoor arrangement to be done. We want to give the people the rightful government that they chose. That is our aim," Mahathir said in an interview.
Rats and expired food uncovered in Durban raid
At least 15 people have been arrested for operating unregistered businesses and not having the proper documentation to be in the country in a raid on Durban's notorious Point precinct. Rats, expired and rotting food, as well as counterfeit goods were uncovered during the raid at a number of hijacked buildings in the area. KwaZulu-Natal MEC for economic development and tourism Nomusa Dube-Ncube, accompanied by police, crime intelligence, Durban metro police, inspectors from the business regulations and consumer protection unit, and members of home affairs' immigration unit, pounced on a number of hijacked buildings which were reportedly being used to store and sell expired and counterfeit goods. More than 50 businesses operated by foreigners have been shut down in the Durban central business district for selling expired goods. This followed a wave of tip-offs regarding illegal businesses operating in the area. Dube-Ncube said those arrested were a mixture of locals and foreigners, confirming the existence of an international criminal syndicate. “Such unscrupulous elements are involved in cross-border crime and have a disregard of business regulations. They have been found to be using fraudulent trading permits and their business are not registered as they don’t have identity documents.”
