The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, said today that presidential elections would go ahead on Aug 20, in an about-face on his decision a week ago to issue a decree for an April ballot.
Mr Karzai told a press conference he accepted the election commission's decision, three days after the independent body called for the original August date to be kept.
Mr Karzai, under huge pressure from the United Nations, the United States and other Afghan allies to support the commission's August date, caused a stir when he issued his decree calling for an April 20 ballot.
The commission had said staging elections in a matter of weeks was impossible given the overwhelming security problems in the insurgency-wracked central Asian country.
Nearly five million people, 32 per cent of them women, are registered to vote in only the country's second ever presidential elections to be conducted under universal suffrage.
Mr Karzai won a 55 per cent majority in the first at the end of 2004 but his popularity has been severely damaged by his failure to check rising violence and corruption levels.
The president initially objected to the August date because his five-year term expires on May 21 and the constitution states that the vote must be held 30 to 60 days before that date.
"In January there was suddenly a disagreement (about the Aug 20 date) and the lower house passed a resolution calling upon me, as protector of the constitution, to implement the constitution," he said today.
"Now some of our friends say the first decision is acceptable ... I respect and have accepted the decision of the electoral commission."
There is hot debate on the legitimacy of any power Mr Karzai may hold between May and August.
The opposition has calling for the creation of an interim administration, but some analysts have suggested that declaring a state of emergency is a better solution.
The election commission in January delayed the vote until August, saying it needed the time to prepare and wanted Nato military reinforcements on the ground to help secure the polls from Taliban attack.
Nato's top military officer, US General John Craddock, is seeking four extra battalions of troops to help provide security. Depending on the country it is drawn from, a battalion usually numbers between 800 and 1,200 troops.
The United States recently announced the deployment of 17,000 extra troops, mainly to the south where the insurgency is at its worst, but those soldiers are unlikely to be fully in place until July, under current planning.
*AFP
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
How to avoid crypto fraud
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
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Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
The specs
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Power: 310hp
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now