News in Brief

106,000 select Obamacare in October
Afp, Washington

 
Only 106,000 people enrolled in the new US health plan in its first month and only a quarter did so on a faulty government website, in early failures for President Barack Obama's top domestic achievement.
The data fueled fresh and fiery debate in Washington over the new law, with Republicans saying it proved the reform was a failure and should be scrapped.

Pussy Riot convict arrives in Siberia
Afp, Moscow

 
Russian authorities yesterday confirmed that jailed Pussy Riot punk band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova had been moved to a new prison in Siberia, after three weeks of uncertainty about her whereabouts.
Her husband Pyotr Verzilov, who spoke to his wife by phone, said she has been weakened by a recent hunger strike and is currently at a hospital.

460,000 displaced in Darfur this year: UN
Afp, Khartoum

 
Tribal violence and rebel-government battles have displaced at least 460,000 people in Sudan's Darfur this year, the United Nations said yesterday, as violence worsens in the western region.
The latest figure marks a jump from the 300,000 who UN humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos announced in May had been displaced during the first five months of the year.

Turkey parliament lifts ban on trousers
Afp, Ankara

 
Turkish parliament has lifted a ban on women lawmakers wearing trousers in the assembly, shortly after a major government reform allowed them to don Islamic headscarves.
In late October, four female lawmakers from the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) attended parliament wearing headscarves, breaking a long taboo in the staunchly secular country.