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page 39 IRAQ 80 killed in Baghdad car bombings Three suicide bombings claimed by Islamic State across Baghdad killed at least 80 people on Wednesday, Iraqi police and hospital sources said, in the deadliest attacks in the Iraqi capital this year. Security has gradually improved in Baghdad, which was the target of daily bombings a […]

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IRAQ

80 killed in Baghdad car bombings

Three suicide bombings claimed by Islamic State across Baghdad killed at least 80 people on Wednesday, Iraqi police and hospital sources said, in the deadliest attacks in the Iraqi capital this year.

Security has gradually improved in Baghdad, which was the target of daily bombings a decade ago, but violence against security forces and Shi’ite Muslim civilians is still frequent. Large blasts sometimes set off reprisal attacks against the minority Sunni community.

The first attack, a suicide car bomb at a bustling market in the Shi’ite Muslim area of Sadr City, killed 55 people during morning rush hour and wounded 68.

Two more blasts struck at the end of the working day. A suicide bomber stormed a security checkpoint leading into Kadhimiya, a northwestern area housing one of the holiest sites in Shi’ite Islam, killing 17 and wounding more than 30.

Another bomb went off at a checkpoint on a commercial thoroughfare in a predominantly Sunni district of western Baghdad, killing eight and wounding 20.

CONGO

Court says president would stay in power if election delayed

Democratic Republic of Congo’s highest court ruled on Wednesday that President Joseph Kabila would stay in power beyond the end of his mandate if his government failed to hold an election due in November.

Kabila’s opponents denounced the ruling – they had previously argued that an interim president should serve after Kabila’s term expired if the election was delayed.

Kabila succeeded his assassinated father as president in 2001, then won his first election in 2006. The constitution requires that he step down in December after two five-year terms in office.

The government has said the election to choose Kabila’s successor is likely to be delayed by budgetary and logistical obstacles.

Opposition leaders say Kabila is trying to delay the election so he can hold on to power. He has declined to comment publicly on his intentions and called instead for a national dialogue to allow elections to take place.

BRAZIL

Senate debates impeachment trial for Rousseff

Brazil’s Senate has begun to debate whether President Dilma Rousseff should face a full impeachment trial.

If a simple majority votes in favour, as is expected, Ms Rousseff will be automatically suspended from office.

Ahead of the vote, Ms Rousseff asked the Supreme Court to block proceedings against her, citing irregularities.

The president is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014, which she denies.

The move to impeach President Rousseff has divided Brazil. On Tuesday, her supporters set up burning barricades and blocked roads, causing widespread disruption across all Brazilian states.

Wednesday’s debate started an hour late. Senate President Renan Calheiros warned: “There won’t be changes; the session will be conducted with absolute normality. Any delay won’t be good for Brazil.”

NORWAY

Report: Nearly 41m people internally displaced globally

A new report says the number of people throughout the world who were uprooted from their homes due to conflicts and natural disasters stood at a record 40.8 million last year, the highest figure ever recorded.

The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) reported Wednesday that 27.8 million people were internally displaced just in 2015.

The report found an average of 66,000 people were uprooted daily in 2015, enough last year to equal the combined populations of New York City, London, Paris and Cairo.

Sixty percent of the 8.6 million people displaced by conflict were in the Middle Eastern countries Yemen, Syria and Iraq. The Arab Spring uprising in 2010 and the growth of Islamic State, which is waging war in Syria, Iraq and in other countries, were the primary reasons for the displacements.

FRANCE

Sexism: Minister Sapin admits ‘inappropriate’ act

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin has apologised for “inappropriate behaviour” towards a journalist but has denied harassing her, amid a sexism row that has engulfed French politics.

He has rejected claims that he twanged the elastic on the woman’s underwear at a conference but admits remarking on her clothing and touching her back.

The political sexism scandal has already prompted one resignation.

Deputy parliament speaker Denis Baupin has himself denied several allegations.

Prosecutors launched an inquiry after eight of Mr Baupin’s former Green Party colleagues said they were subjected to either sexual assault or lewd text messages. The former deputy speaker is suing for defamation.

But the revelations have touched a chord in France, and some 12,000 have signed a petition calling for the mafia-like silence on the issue of sexual violence to be lifted, under the slogan “Levons l’omerta”.

UK

Queen filmed calling Chinese officials ‘very rude’

The Queen has been filmed saying Chinese officials were “very rude” during last year’s state visit by President Xi Jinping.

She was discussing their treatment of Britain’s ambassador to China with a senior police officer at a Buckingham Palace garden party on Tuesday.

It came after David Cameron was overheard saying Afghanistan and Nigeria were “fantastically corrupt”.

Buckingham Palace said the Chinese visit had been “extremely successful”.

Chinese officials in both London and Beijing also recalled the visit’s “success”.

The invitation to President Xi was part of the government’s policy of courting Chinese investment.

The Queen’s remarks were filmed as she was introduced to Metropolitan Police Commander Lucy D’Orsi, who the monarch is told had overseen security during President Xi’s visit to the UK in October.

UNITED STATES

US 2016: Sanders beats Clinton in West Virginia

Bernie Sanders has won the West Virginia primary in the Democratic race for the presidential nomination, US media project.

The Vermont senator still trails Hillary Clinton in the overall contest for delegates but this win keeps his slim hopes alive.

“We are going to fight for every last vote,” he said in a victory speech that also attacked Republican Donald Trump.

Mr Trump was declared the winner in West Virginia and in Nebraska.

His last remaining rivals dropped out last week but remained on the ballot.

But Mr Trump faces a huge task in trying to get the Republican party behind him, as doubts persist about his substance and style.

ITALY

MPs back same-sex unions in vote for Renzi

Italy’s parliament has backed same-sex civil unions in a vote of confidence for centre-left Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Until Wednesday’s vote Italy had been the last major Western democracy not to legally recognise gay partnerships.

The issue has been highly controversial in Italy, amid staunch opposition from Catholic conservatives.

MPs in the lower house voted 369-193 for the government, ensuring that the civil unions bill will become law.

Ahead of the vote, Mr Renzi wrote on Facebook that “today is a day of celebration for so many”.

After many delays the civil unions bill was watered down in order to secure the necessary support.

ETHIOPIA

50 killed in floods, landslides after heavy rain

At least 50 people in Ethiopia have died in floods and landslides caused by heavy rain, a state-affiliated broadcaster has reported.

The rainfall follows one of the worst droughts in more than 50 years, made worse by the El Nino phenomenon.

Administrators in the southern district of Wolaita said 41 people had died in landslides on Monday.

Nine other people drowned in floods in the south-eastern area of Bale that also killed hundreds of head of cattle.

The flooding in Bale, in the south of the Oromia region, has reportedly affected 559 hectares (1,381 acres) of farmland too, washing away seeds.

S/AFRICA

Judge accused of racism is put on ‘special leave’

A white South African judge accused of making racist comments has been put on special leave while the incident is investigated, the justice ministry said on Wednesday.

High Court Judge Mabel Jansen is reported to have said that in black people’s culture “a woman is there to pleasure them. Period,” and that she had never met a black girl “who was not raped at about 12”.

Many South Africans demanded Jansen be sacked for the comments that once again drew attention to enduring racial tensions more than two decades after white minority rule.