MPs in Burma forced the nine judges on the constitutional court from office in a dispute, pitting the government against the parliament created as part of political reforms. State media said president Thein Sein had accepted the judges' resignations after parliament voted to
impeach
them. Here's our southeast Asia correspondent Jonnathan Head.
The issue was a crucial one for Burma. What powers does parliament have in relation to the government? The court had ruled in March that parliamentary committees which do much of the preparatory work before decisions are put to a vote do not have national status, so don't match the authority of government ministries. The court is supposed to be the final
arbiter
of what is or isn't constitutional. But parliament has now challenged that assumption and won.
A United States military judge has ordered the man accused of killing 13 people at a Texas army base to
shave off
his beard or have it forcibly removed.But Nidal Hasan, an army psychiatrist, said he was complying with his Muslim faith. Jenner Bryon reports.
Nidal Hasan's facial hair which appeared in June is against army regulations. His lawyer said removing the beard would violate his right to religious freedom. But the presiding military judge described it as a distracting and disruptive
sideshow
. The army psychiatrist is accused of opening fire on soldiers at Fort Hood Texas who were preparing for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Hasan faces the death penalty if convicted.