 | | Lone female
CMC member
against quota
for women |
 SHEIKHA
AL JUFAIRI, who made history in 2003 when she won election to
the Central Municipal Council (CMC) from the Airport constituency,
the first woman in the GCC ever to win a municipal election,
is against reservation of seats for women in the CMC as demanded
by many. In an exclusive interview with Qatar Tribune, Sheikha
al Jufairi answered a number of... |
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|  |  | | Yemen´s ´Aborted´ Revolution |
 TOYemenis,
violence in the streets and threats of state collapse are nothing
new. Despite reports portraying the protests in Yemen as something
of a revolution, democratic change has little possibility of
success. President Ali Abdullah Saleh is essentially a figurehead;
whether he stays or goes, the regime of technocrats and thugs
he represents is unlikely. |
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| |  | | SOMERSAULT ON
GAZA WAR REPORT |
| WE have a new verb, "to Goldstone."
Its meaning: To make a finding, and then partially retract it
for uncertain motive. Etymology: the strange actions of a respected
South African Jewish jurist under intense pressure from Israel,
the US Congress and world Jewish groups. Richard Goldstone is
an author of the "Goldstone Report," an investigation
of Israel´s military campaign in Gaza... |
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Japanese voters may further weaken PM over N-crisis
REUTERS
TOKYO AN outspoken incumbent looked certain to win a fourth term as Tokyo governor despite a gaffe in which he said a deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan’s northeast last month was “divine punishment,” media exit polls showed on Sunday.
In the first round of results for nationwide local elections, a pro-nuclear governor was also set to keep his post in Japan’s west despite a crisis at a nuclear power plant hit by the tsunami and leaking radiation into the air and sea.
Both are independents but other election results, to be finalized later on Sunday or Monday, could be bad news for Prime Minister Naoto Kan, under fire for his handling of the nuclear crisis, and a boost for rivals who want to seek his resignation once the crisis ends.
The unpopular Kan was already under pressure to step down before the massive earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, leaving his government to cope with the worst crisis to hit Japan since World War Two.
Many Japanese believe Kan’s Democratic Party government should form a “grand coalition” with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party to deal with the tens of thousands left homeless, a reeling economy and the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
Observers expect the Democratic Party to lose seats on Sunday, with a heavy loss likely to be blamed on Kan.
“Depending on how badly the Democrats are defeated, the issue of Kan’s responsibility could emerge,” said Tomoaki Iwai, political science professor at Nihon University.
“Since Kan’s departure is said to be a precondition for a grand coalition, such talk could gradually surface.” In Tokyo, exit polls suggested incumbent Shintaro Ishihara, a conservative known for his criticism of China as well as of elite bureaucrats at home, was set to win a fourth term.
He was forced to apologize last month after calling Japan’s twin disasters last month “divine punishment” for Japanese being egoistic.
Ishihara told national broadcaster NHK he wanted to encourage Tokyo to conserve energy after problems at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant led to a power shortage in the capital and rolling blackouts.
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