French prime minister survives no-confidence vote
Paris, Oct 17: France’s latest political crisis eased – for now – when Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two consecutive no-confidence votes on Thursday, averting another government collapse and giving President Emmanuel Macron a respite before an even tougher fight over the national budget. The immediate danger may have receded but the core problem is still very much centre stage. The eurozone’s second-largest economy is still run by a minority government in a splintered parliament where no single bloc or party has a majority. Every major law now turns on last-minute deals, and the next test is a spending plan that must pass before the end of the year. (AP)
Stampede at funeral of Kenya’s ex-PM injures 18 people
Nairobi, Oct 17: Eighteen people have been injured during a stampede at a football stadium during the state funeral service Friday for Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the democratic reformer who died this week in India at the age of 80. Kenyans had turned out in large numbers to mourn Odinga since his death on Wednesday, reflecting the outsized influence the respected statesman had on political life in the East African country. A stampede ensued at the stadium in the capital, Nairobi, as the public viewed his body after the service. Thousands filled the stadium where Odinga’s casket was covered in the national flag for an Anglican Church service. They chanted and held up portraits of Odinga, while some carried twigs, a symbol of peace and unity in Kenyan tradition. (AP)
