MPs ordered back to work by Iraq's Supreme Court
National News
Iraq's highest court has ordered the country's parliament back to work, in a ruling that could help break a seven-month deadlock in negotiations to form a new government.
The chief judge of the Federal Supreme Court, Midhat Mahmoud, said the court had ruled unconstitutional the parliament's failure to meet since June or to fulfil its duty to elect a speaker and a president.
The 325-member parliament elected in March has met only once, on June 14, for 18 minutes.
Advertisement: Story continues below The court's ruling has the potential to deepen the political crisis if the Iraqiya bloc, which won the most seats in the election, refuses to attend sessions.
''All members of parliament should abide by this decision,'' said Abdul Sattar al-Beeraqdar, a spokesman for the country's judiciary. ''It will be a constitutional breach if they don't.''
The ruling is in response to a case filed by a consortium of groups, backed by the Communist Party, against the acting speaker, Fouad Massoum.
Mr Massoum, a Kurd, said he would not disobey the order and expected to summon MPs to meet again within two weeks.
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Effective September 1, 2017, Texas will become the 47th state to pass a statewide ban on texting while driving. Governor Abbott’s signing of House Bill 62 is an effort to unify Texas under a uniform ban and remedy the “patchwork quilt of regulations that dictate driving practices in Texas.”
The bill specifically prohibits drivers from reading, writing, or sending an electronic message on a device unless the vehicle is stopped. That includes texting and emailing. It does not, however, prohibit dialing a number to call someone, talking on the phone using a hands-free device, or using the phone’s GPS system.
Violations would be punishable by a fine ranging from $25 to $99, to be set by each municipality. Although penalties could rise to as much as $200 for repeat offenders.
Studies have found that a driver’s reaction time is half as much when a driver is distracted by sending or reading a text message. According to state officials, in 2015 more than 105,000 traffic accidents in Texas involved distracted driving, leading to at least 476 fatalities.