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21 August 2010 Australia
The governing Australian Labour Party lost its majority in the House of Representatives, having retained, according to preliminary results of the legislative election, only 72 of the 150 seats. The Liberal-National coalition, led by Tony Abbott, held 73 seats. The Labour Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, had been in office only since June, following her successful challenge to the leadership of Kevin Rudd. The concurrent election for 40 of the 76 members of the Senate resulted in substantial gains for the Australian Greens, who were expected to hold the balance of power in the upper chamber from July 2011.
19 August 2010 Pakistan
A special session of the UN General Assembly adopted a consensus resolution urging the intensification of international assistance in emergency relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction and prevention in response to devastating floods in Pakistan. The emergency had arisen from late July following unusually heavy monsoon rains. By the end of August, according to UN estimates, some 17.6m. people were affected by the flooding. Provision of food, shelter, clean water and health care remained critical to the relief effort. Some 160,000 sq km of land had been inundated, and extensive flooding of farmland and loss of standing crops, stored seeds and irrigation systems was expected to jeopardize wheat and other staple crops in the coming months. Additionally, some 1.2m. livestock were estimated to have been lost. Severe damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure continued to impede efforts by the Government and aid agencies to provide relief, particularly in remote districts. The UN and its partners in Pakistan had on 11 August launched an urgent international appeal to raise US $460m. towards the provision of emergency assistance for Pakistan: by late August some 63% of this amount had been funded or pledged. On 16 August, meanwhile, the World Bank had announced that it was to make immediately available lending of $900m. to assist in recovery efforts.
9 August 2010 Rwanda
At a presidential election the incumbent, Maj.-Gen. Paul Kagame, the candidate of the ruling Front patriotique rwandais, was decisively re-elected, taking 93.1% of the votes cast. His closest challenger, Dr Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo of the Parti social-démocrate, won just 5.2% of the votes. Some 97.5% of the registered electorate participated in the poll.
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4 August 2010 Kenya
The adoption of a new Constitution was approved by 66.9% of voters, according to official results released by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission on 6 August. Turn-out was put at some 72.2% of the eligible electorate. The new Constitution, which, inter alia, provided for the abolition of the post of Prime Minister, was promulgated on 27 August.
29 July 2010 Republic of Korea
Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan resigned, following the Government’s failure to secure the National Assembly’s approval for plans to establish a new national administrative city. On 8 August President Lee Myung-Bak nominated Kim Tae-Ho, a former provincial governor, as the new premier. The President also announced the replacement of seven cabinet members. On 29 August, however, Prime Minister-designate Kim relinquished his nomination, following questioning during his confirmation hearing concerning suggested financial impropriety in his previous role. Two other cabinet nominees also withdrew as a result of allegations of previous unethical conduct.
26 July 2010 Cambodia
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, a UN-supported tribunal established to try serious crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge regime of 1975–79, passed its first verdict. Kaing Guek Eav, a senior Khmer Rouge leader also known as ‘Comrade Duch’, was convicted of crimes against humanity, including murder and torture, committed during his time as chief of the S-21 prison camp at Tuol Sleng, where at least 17,000 prisoners had been tortured and executed. Duch, who had been incarcerated since his arrest in 1999, was sentenced to 35 years’ imprisonment; however, the sentence was reduced by 16 years in consideration of time already served in detention.
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