A roundup of today's other world news in brief
Key parts of US immigration law blocked
PHOENIX – A US judge yesterday blocked key parts of Arizona’s tough new immigration law hours before it was due to take effect, handing a victory to the Obama administration as it tries to take control over the issue.
The law had popular support but was opposed by President Barack Obama and immigration and human rights groups.
US district judge Susan Bolton blocked several provisions, including one that required a police officer to determine the immigration status of a person detained or arrested if the officer believed the person was not in the country legally.
The judge also stayed provisions requiring immigrants to carry their papers at all times and making it illegal for people without immigration papers to seek work in public places.
The Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature passed the law three months ago in an effort to drive nearly half-a-million illegal immigrants out of the border state and stem the flow of human and drug smugglers over the frontier.
The US Justice Department had argued that provisions of the law, which goes into effect today, encroached on federal authority over immigration policy and enforcement. – (Reuters)
$7m settlement in NY police shooting
NEW YORK – The final chapter in one of the most divisive policing cases in New York has ended with a $7 million (€5.4 million) settlement in a civil lawsuit over the fatal shooting of Sean Bell on his wedding day.
Bell (23) died outside a strip club in Queens where he was celebrating his stag night hours before his intended marriage in November 2006. Neither he nor his two friends were armed but were hit as police fired 50 rounds into their car, killing Bell and wounding the other two.
Bell’s two young children will get $3.25 million, with Joseph Guzman receiving $3 million and Trent Benefield $900,000 in the settlement.
Outside the court, Nicole Paultre Bell, Bell’s fiancee and mother of his children, who receives nothing because she was unmarried at the time of the shooting and took Bell’s name legally after he died, said the settlement was fair but did not end the suffering. – (Guardian service)
Modesty order for Gaza lingerie shops
GAZA – The Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip have ordered lingerie shops to display more modesty.
A week after banning women from smoking water pipes in public places, the Hamas-run police force has told stores selling women’s underwear to remove scantily clad mannequins and any posters of racy undergarments.
“These measures have stemmed from complaints and pressure by ordinary people. They have to do with upholding our traditions,” police spokesman Ayman Al-Batniji said yesterday.
Hamas leaders have repeatedly denied any intention to impose Islamic law on the Gaza Strip, home to 1.5 million Palestinians.
But Hamas police have broken up a hip-hop concert in the territory and tried – unsuccessfully – to force women lawyers in court and female school students to wear traditional Muslim clothing, a step that drew a public backlash. – (Reuters)