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The National Assembly. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The election of four parliamentary members today could tilt the scales in determining which of the two leading coalitions becomes the majority and minority in the National Assembly.

A mix-up at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission prevented voters in Rongai, Kitui Rural, Pokot South, and Kacheliba in Nakuru, Kitui, and West Pokot counties from choosing their MPs with the rest of the country on August 9.

The four elections are crucial for President-elect William Ruto and Kenya Kwanza Alliance, as well as Raila Odingas Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party, because a majority win will help the political formation gain control of the National Assembly.

Currently, Rutos Kenya Kwanza leads the Azimio by one seat in a tally of 161 to 160, and the victory in other seats could inform the coalition that will win the coveted positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Majority Leader, and Majority Whip in the National Assembly.

If the Supreme Court upholds Rutos victory, he will want control of the National Assembly to ensure his government business is expedited.

In the two weeks since he was declared winner by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati, the president-elect has gone on the charm offensive, welcoming nine of the 12 independents and wooing MPs from other parties to join him.

On Friday, Ruto welcomed Ugenya MP David Ochieng and his MDG party to the Kenya Kwanza coalition days after he won over the United Democratic Movement of Mandera senator-elect Ali Roba, an Azimio affiliate, that has six members in the National Assembly and two in the Senate, to his fold.

Alongside the four constituencies polls, IEBC will today also conduct elections for the governor seats in Kakamega and Mombasa and MCA posts in Nyaki West (North lmenti Constituency, Meru County) and Kwa Njenga (Embakasi South Constituency, Nairobi County).

Because of the ongoing scramble for seats in the National Assembly, parliamentary seats are more competitive than governor contests.

The parliamentary elections that Ruto and Raila will be watching closely are not only for bragging rights, but also because they will control House business.

Parliament is different because they have to elect the speakers and then deal with contentious issues that will affect the running of government, political analyst Prof Macharia Munene says.

Kenya Kwanza is backing Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula while and Azimio is fronting Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, and every vote in the National Assembly will count.

Link:
Four MP poll results to determine coalition that will control House - The Standard

The Capital Regional District is warning residents sections of Thetis Lake Regional Park are closed due to a wildfire.

In a release published Saturday morning, the CRD said the parks Main Beach and Seymour Hill areas are closed to the public. Other areas of the park remain open, however visitors are required to follow any directions given by park staff on site in order to support the safety of fire crews and visitors.

View Royal Fire Rescue Chief Paul Hurst told Black Press Media Saturday morning the fire was first discovered at the top of Seymour Hill around 1 a.m., but crews were unable to reach it until 6:30 a.m. as it would not have been safe to approach it at night. As of 9:30 a.m., nine View Royal firefighters, two Colwood, two Langford, and an initial attack team from the province are on scene.

He said the fire is sitting at around 1 hectare in size, and crews have been able to contain it and bring it under control using hand tools to dig a trench around it. Water is being drawn from the lake and crews are now working on extinguishing the blaze, a process Hurst said is expected to take several days due to the extent of the burnt vegetation.

Hurst said the weather has been very cooperative, and the combination of cooler temperatures, high humidity, and lack of wind overnight contributed greatly to the fire remaining a manageable size before crews could get on scene.

As the fire is quite a distance from the lake and there is equipment setup over a wide area, Hurst is asking residents to avoid the park where possible.

The fire will be investigated by both the provinces wildfire crews and View Royal Fire Rescue, but Hurst said it has already been determined to have been the result of human actions.

It comes days after a fire sparked near Fort Rodd Hill and the Esquimalt Lagoon, but was quickly brought under control by West Shore fire crews.

READ MORE: Drone captures Fort Rodd Hill fire from Colwood skies

bc wildfiresThetis LakeWest Shore

See the rest here:
UPDATE: Wildfire closes sections of Thetis Lake Regional Park - Sooke News Mirror

A video of former Supreme Court judge Indu Malhotra emerged on social media on Sunday, in which she can be seen commenting that Communist governments want to take control of Hindu temples because of the revenue these temples generate.

This is what happens with these Communist governments. They want to take over because of their revenue. Their problem is the revenue. All over they have taken over..all over..only Hindu temples, the retired judge is seen telling a group of people. HT cannot independently verify the authenticity of the video. Attempts to reach the former judge were also not successful.

In the video, Justice Malhotra claims that she and Chief Justice of India (CJI) Uday Umesh Lalit said that they will not allow it.

Justice Malhotra and CJI Lalit were part of a bench in the top court, which in July 2020 delivered a judgment over control and management of Keralas Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. The bench had set aside a Kerala high court ruling that allowed the state government to take control of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple and manage its affairs through a committee. This bench instead affirmed the mandate of the erstwhile ruling family of Travancore to continue its involvement in the management of the temple.

Earlier in the day, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted his photo with Justice Malhotra. Pleased to meet retired Supreme Court Justice Indu Malhotra at the Trivandrum Medical College function today. A remarkable lady, Tharoor posted.

Justice Malhotra also happened to be the lone dissenting voice on the five-judge bench that had in 2018 held that women of all ages should be allowed in Keralas Sabrimala temple.

In her judgment, she said that matters of deep religious sentiment should not be interfered with by the court and that the subject of rationality should not be seen in religious beliefs.

Issues of deep religious sentiments should not be ordinarily be interfered by the court What constitutes essential religious practice is for the religious community to decide, not for the court, Justice Malhotra had held in her judgment.

Currently, the Sabrimala case along with a batch of other petitions relating to religious practices across various faiths is pending before a nine-judge bench.

Utkarsh Anand is Legal Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on law, judiciary and governance....view detail

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Communist governments are trying to take over the temples: Former SC judge - Hindustan Times

Recently, I asked the president of a large Democratic womens organization in Washington, D.C., if they had been helping any of the more than 6,000 migrants who had been bussed to D.C. from Texas in recent weeks.Many D.C. charities and immigrant rights groups have tried to help, but their resources were overwhelmed. Most of the migrants usually single male adults ages 18 to 26 have ended up on the streets. Mayor Muriel Bowser has asked the NationalGuard for help. She was refused.

The non-profits president enthusiastically introduced me to a 26-year-old woman helping in their food bank. She had walked from Ecuador to Texas in 45 days in May and June, then took the offer of a free bus from Texas to D.C. in early July. The former Venezuelan naval helicopter pilot student was eager to tell me her story over a two-hour lunch speaking only Spanish.But she askedme not to use her name since she didnt have papers.I must tell you she is beautiful.Her lovely hair fell in swooping curls and she had long manicured fingernails.In her soft but passionate voice, she told me that she was still upset and traumatized by her trip. But she also acknowledged she had been very lucky to make itto the USAsafely and to find a hostess in D.C.

I recount her story here from my notes in Spanish and English. Her narrative brings up as many questions as it answers.

I am from a coastal town in Venezuela where my parents had a small construction supply business. Seven years ago, I joined the navy. A year or so after, I was happy to be accepted into the helicopter pilot training program. I wanted to do something different, that most girls dont do.During the governmental incursions of 2017-18,I had to do some security detail with my naval unit. That was OK.But then about four years ago, my parents were taken hostage in their home and all their belongings were taken away. We decided as a family to flee to Ecuador. I eventually became a nail technician, although its not what I wanted to do.I wanted to go to the United States where the jobs were better.

This May after preparing with five friends all male we started off from Ecuador to walk to the U.S. al norte.I knew we had to travel light so I only took a small backpack with some clothes.

How many shoes did you take? I asked. Only one, she replied.My sports shoes. How are they? I asked. Fine, she answered with a shrug.

What was the worst part of the trip? I inquired.Oh, theDarien jungle in Columbia before Panama,she answered without hesitation. If you cant afford a boat around it, you have to walk through it. It was very scary. No food or water. Took about a week. We saw almost no one.

More questions: Did you have guides? maps?Did people help you with food and transportation? Were you ever assaulted?

No, I was never assaulted, she maintained throughout the two-hour interview. My friends protectedme. Andseveral times during the trip we were able to pay for a bus, or a hotel or for some meals. Sometimes, people helped us.

But they did have to pay bribes. Usually to people in (fake?) uniforms.Mexico was the hardest border to get through, she said. I was kidnapped in central Mexico she used the verb kidnapped in English a couple of times, but we agreed that she meant more like taken hostage or detained until she paid a bribe. The biggest bribe she paid was in Mexico: $600.

How much money did you take with you?I asked.About 1,200 American dollars, she said.

So, what happened when you got to the Mexican-U.S. border? I asked.We took a bus and had a map to the Rio Grande river crossing. It was dark but there were about 600 people waiting there the most we had seen on the whole trip, she recounted.

No one guided or led them. At one point during the night, people started wading across the river. So, she and her friends decided to as well. The water was deep, up to here, she showed me pointing to her chest. It was hard because I had hurt my ankle. I was scared.

When she and her friends made it onto the Texas shore, however, uniformed U.S. border patrol came up to them. Are you OK? she recalled was the first thing they asked. Are you hurt? Hungry? Need water?

Then, they were taken by van to a registration center.They asked us for our names and nationality, the Venezuelan citizen said. She had no papers to show them (had been told not to bring any). No one asked anything about COVID.

Then, people from ISAP (Intensive Supervision of Appearance Program, a government migrant monitoring program)took charge.We have automatically registered you as claiming asylum, they told her and her friends. We will help you with the paperwork.

Did you see anyone turned away by the borderpatrol?I asked?No, she said firmly.

The agents then took them to a small tent city where they were given food, clean clothes, a chance to shower and clean beds. Her companions were already contacting relatives and friends they had in Texas, California and Chicago. But she had no one to call.A few days later, they were given a bus ride to a small Texas town and told they were free to go where they wanted.As she walked into town, people from another organization told her they were putting together a bus for migrants to travel free to Washington D.C.Would she like to go?She immediately said yes.

The bus arrived at Union Station 45 hours later.It was late at night and dark. A small number of people greeted them with food and water. Some migrants mostly women and a few with young children were offered to stay at volunteers homes for a night or two, but no more.They would be directed to agencies that could help them.

Then, she got reallylucky.One of the volunteers said she could stay with her.Now Im doing all I can to expedite my asylum status so I can get a job permit, she said.Thats what I want.A good job and security to stay.

I told her I was happy for her and wished her luck.Ididnt mention thatbecause she was coming from Ecuador where she and her family hadfound safe refuge, a home and jobs for over three years,thatmight taint her request for asylum status. But Venezuelans have been given special Temporary Protective Status on the basis of their nationality it is not safe for them to go back to their homeland right now (a United Nations Human Right). So, she might not have to prove she was fleeingimmediate mortal danger as asylum and refugee applicants usually are required to do.

Such are the realities of crossing the southern border. Meanwhile, nonprofits in D.C. that assist migrants arriving from Texas are running out of resources and are asking for help themselves.

The rest is here:
Exclusive Interview on the Migrant Crisis: Woman Walks From Ecuador to Texas - Georgetowner

The fire department chief of a small Texas border county sees no end in sight for his weary team of first responders who every day recover migrant children and adults from the Rio Grande.

Manuel Mello III leads the Eagle Pass Fire Department in south-central Texas, an area that has become a top location for illegal migration nationwide. As more migrants attempt to cross the river as their final step in a long journey to the United States, many do not make it.

Two years ago, we would probably make in a year's time about 20 to 25 drownings, Mello told the Washington Examiner in a phone call Friday. Right now, you're looking at maybe 30 body recoveries in a month.

Mellos team is not only responsible for responding to fire emergencies in the 75,000-resident Maverick County; they also handle all emergency medical services and have the only swift water rescue in the region. Not only is his staff working overtime at a rate they have never hit before and trying to manage with just four ambulances to respond to calls they are struggling with the reality of pulling babies and children from the water.

'FLAT-OUT LYING': ABBOTT TEAM DENIES MIGRANTS MUST SIGN NDAS TO BOARD BUSES

Dario Lopez-Mills/AP

The Border Patrol operates boats in the Rio Grande and will rescue migrants, but agents will not pull deceased migrants from the river, leaving it to the fire department to recover those who drowned. Sometimes, Mexican officials will call Mello to let him know about a body washed up in the overgrown brush that spans the U.S. side of the river. Because there is but one boat ramp into the river and bodies can be found miles up and down the river, it can be a time-consuming effort.

The fire department uses a simple system to track those it recovers but was unable to break down the numbers by immigration status, gender, or age. As a result, Mello has to go by what he has seen in recent months and could not provide data for the past year.

Child drownings are becoming very common, he said, noting the death of a 3-year-old boy this week.

We've been seeing a whole lot more children drowning not like years past. I've been here 30 years. Once in a while, you'd see a child drowning. It was mostly male migrants that were crossing the river, said Mello. Now, we see people of all ages. It's just overwhelming because you'll see pregnant females. ... We had a family crossing, and they lost their children.

The uptick in deaths comes as more people are being encountered attempting to enter the U.S. illegally than at any time in history. Given that more people are attempting to cross the river, the number who are unsuccessful is also rising.

Recently, the fire department pulled six bodies from the river in one day, and on that same day, Mexican first responders pulled six people from the south side of the river. In addition, the department recovers one to two bodies per week of migrants who died of dehydration and heat-related illnesses.

Maverick County does not have its own medical examiner, and the fire department must transport every body an hour's drive to Webb County. Medical Examiner Dr. CorrineStern has been in her role as a forensic pathologist for two decades and has never seen anything like what is unfolding.

"This is my busiest year in my career ever," Stern told CNN's Rosa Flores and Rosalina Nieves this week.

She had tracked 196 migrant deaths this time last year across 12 counties. This year, she is responsible for autopsies in 11 counties and has already surpassed 218 deaths.

The human toll is a challenge logistically. Her five coolers have 260 bodies inside. Short on room, Stern asked local funeral home directors to hold bodies until she could make more room, CNN reported. Stern did not return a request for an interview.

Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber said one morgue recently refused to take in any more bodies because it was out of space. One morgue director suggested the city move bodies outside the jail, an idea that Schmerber rejected, the New York Post reported. A funeral home director who spoke with the outlet on condition of anonymity said he had to "stack" bodies at his facility due to a space shortage.

The bodies of migrants who cannot be identified are being buried at the back of a county cemetery with crosses made from PVC pipes, according to CNN. They are fingerprinted before burial in hopes of being able to identify them later.

The crisis is also taking a toll on first responders. Counseling and mental health services are available to the fire department and EMS employees, but Mello worried that pulling babies and children from the river is hitting his staff especially hard given that around 70% of fire employees are in their 20s and 30s and have children that age.

Its very heartbreaking. It's stressful. You go through a lot of emotions, said Mello.

Mello lamented that local officials had not heard from the Biden administration at any point since January 2021. The state has reached out, and Mello requested emergency funding and equipment.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Several years ago, I told a reporter, This thing's not going to stop, Mello said, referring to when illegal migration through Eagle Pass began to rise in 2019. I said, You guys are going to continue coming down here and covering drownings. And look at us right now, recovering double the drownings that we used to have back then.

Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas could not be reached for comment.

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Fire department in Texas border county recovering bodies of migrants every day - Washington Examiner