Saudi Arabia allows women to participate in municipal polls

July 23, 2014

Riyadh, Jul 23: The Council of Ministers has approved legislation that would allow Saudi women to vote and stand as candidates in upcoming municipal council elections.

Women were not allowed to participate in the 2011 elections but Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques had ordered shortly before the polls that they should be allowed to do so from the 2015 elections onwards.

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The law allows councils to approve and implement municipal plans and programs approved in the budget. They would also oversee maintenance, operating, development and investment projects, the law states.

The Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs would determine the size and make-up of councils. They should not exceed 30 members, with two-thirds elected and a third appointed by the minister.

The law gives men and women the right to stand as candidates, vote and nominate others. It grants independent, non-governmental and non-profit establishments and charities the right to observe election procedures.

These decisions were taken at the council's meeting on Monday, chaired by Crown Prince Salman.

At the beginning of the session, the council considered the details of the talks between King Abdullah and King Mohammad VI of Morocco, and his telephone conversation with Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi, Egypt's president. The council also reviewed the Crown Prince's talks with Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa, prime minister of Bahrain.

Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Council of Ministers reviewed several reports on international and regional developments. He slammed the Israeli government for its aggression against the Palestinians and repeated requests from the Kingdom for the international community to take action against the Zionist state.

Khoja said the Ministry of Interior has issued regulations around the Haj and Umrah, which includes a ban on non-Saudis being involved in the provision of accommodation for pilgrims. A representative of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities should be appointed to the permanent committees in Makkah and Madinah, he said.

The Council of Ministers also reviewed a report of the Minister of Finance, and approved several procedures including issuing licenses to the General Investment Fund to set up single or joint companies inside and outside the Kingdom, in the public and private sectors.

After reviewing the remarks of the Minister of Transport, the council gave Saher the authority to issue fines for drivers and vehicles at fixed and mobile weight stations and elsewhere. The council stated that the majority of Saher employees should be Saudi nationals, and committees set up should be approved by the Ministries of Interior, Transport and Finance.

The Council of Ministers, after reviewing remarks from the president of the Financial Market Authority, and recommendations of the economic council permanent committee, granted the authority the power to allow foreign financial institutions to buy and sell shares listed in the Saudi financial sector.

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News Network
May 8,2024

Mangaluru: The Mangaluru North police have apprehended a minor in connection with alleged voyeurism incident reported in a private medical college in Mangaluru. 

DCP (Law and order) Sidharth Goyal said that the minor was produced before JJ Board as per due procedure. The incident came to light when a mobile phone was found in women's washroom in the college. 

The mobile-phone was discovered as it was ringing even when no one was in the toilet by the security guard of the college. 

Investigations revealed that the mobile phone had been strategically placed in the restroom. As a result, a case has been registered under north police station.

Further scrutiny into the matter uncovered the identity of the accused, a minor male aged 17, who had gained access to the college premises under the guise of being a patient. Following his apprehension, the accused was presented before the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board in adherence to legal protocols.

The phone has been seized and a case has been booked under IPC section 354 (C), said the DCP.

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May 11,2024

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Madikeri, May 11: Kodagu police have apprehended the man allegedly responsible for the brutal murder of a minor girl within the confines of Kumbaragadige village in Karnataka's Somwarpet taluk. 

Kodagu Superintendent of Police, K Ramarajan, disclosed that the arrested individual is Prakash (32) from Hammiyala village in Somwarpet taluk. However, authorities are still in the process of recovering the severed head of the victim. The perpetrator had absconded with the victim's severed head after committing the crime. 

Search operations for the suspect commenced late on Thursday night (May 9), with officials diligently pursuing leads. Acting on information suggesting the suspect's presence in a forested area near the village, the police swiftly moved in and apprehended him.

The victim US Meena, 15, a student of Surlabbi High School, had passed the SSLC examinations, the results of which were announced on May. One same day, she was murdered. 

Reportedly, the engagement of the minor girl with the suspect was thwarted by officials from the Women and Child Development department. Subsequently, officials persuaded the girl's parents against proceeding with the marriage. 

However, despite these interventions, the suspect forcibly entered her residence during the night, purportedly abducted her, and later perpetrated the heinous crime in a wooded area on the outskirts of the forest, before absconding with her severed head.

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News Network
May 10,2024

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A day after National Commission for Women said no woman from Hassan approached the national body to file complaints against Karnataka MP Prajwal Revanna, a new FIR accusing BJP leader Devaraje Gowda of abusing and assaulting a woman has come to light.

The FIR against Gowda was filed by a woman at the Holenarasipura town police station on April 1, after her husband had filed a complaint against the BJP leader on March 30. 

The purported victim's husband has alleged in his plaint that Gowda barged into their home, and threatened the couple while the BJP leader also abused the woman.

Gowda, notably, flagged Prajwal Revanna's case to the saffron party.

Reacting to the allegations levelled against him, the BJP politico posted a video on Facebook where he details how he met the woman and her husband in his office. He also claims that the allegations against him are a plot and false.

It must be noted here that a Special Investigation Team is currently probing the sexual assault cases against Prajwal Revanna who along with his driver Karthik is no longer in the country. A Blue Corner notice is also in place to apprehend the son of H D Revanna who himself is placed under judicial custody till May 14.

In a major twist to the entire case— the woman in the FIR alleged that Devaraje Gowda who apprised BJP of the sex videos involving Prajwal Revanna— has been harassing her for the past 10 months under the guise of helping her sell a property.

The woman also said that she came in contact with Gowda during the process involving the property that she wanted to sell. However, on the pretext of guiding her, the woman alleged that the whistleblower BJP leader physically assaulted and harassed her while Gowda also threatened the couple.

The woman has now sought police protection for herself and family. Further levelling allegations against Gowda in her plaint, she said that the politico had taken her to an isolated place where he assaulted her and threatened to kill the couple.

Former chief minister of Karnataka and Prajwal Revanna's uncle H D Kumaraswamy recently demanded a CBI probe in the Prajwal Revanna matter. However, Home Minister G Parameshwara turned down the demand for the investigation to be handed over to CBI.

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